Variations
by LionsMane10
Summary: Sequel to the Explorers of Time/Darkness storyline. Dialga is predicting a new disaster; can Leo and Blaze figure out what it is and stop it in time? Can Leo survive returning to Earth and confronting everything he left behind? Reviews still welcomed.
1. Foreword & Chapter 1: A Meeting

**Variations**

(A sequel to Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time/Darkness)

_This story is copyrighted by the author. No duplication or reposting is permitted without express consent from the author. Pokémon and Pokémon characters are a trademark of Nintendo. All other characters, characterizations and the story plot are entirely of the author's creation, and any resemblance to any people living or dead is entirely coincidental._

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[Skip down for the start of Chapter 1]

**Foreword**

"Pokémon? What's that?"

_For those who are curious how this story came about…_

How I got into Pokémon was truly a one-in-a-million chance. I didn't really use to pay the franchise much heed, considering basically "kid's stuff" that I wasn't too interested in. Then a couple years ago I was hiking with a friend in a park. On one of the deeper trails I spotted what I thought at first were some memory cards on the ground and thought "Oh, who dropped those?" Having a digital camera, I thought I might be able to use them since there was virtually no chance of finding the owner. Instead, I was somewhat dismayed on discovering they were games for the Nintendo DS, one of which being Pokémon Mystery Dungeon (Blue).

Ack! Useless!

Oh well.

Yet I picked them up rather than leave them (literally) in the middle of the woods.

As it happened, I ended up buying a DS for a different game not long after; still, the Pokémon game sat by the side for some time with little hope of ever making it into the card slot. So it looked to stay…

One night in the dead of winter I got pretty bored, and seeing the Pokémon card staring at me from the table, finally decided to at least give it a look and maybe find out just what this "Pokémon" stuff was about.

With low expectations and having no idea what I was about to unleash, I went through the setup, was matched up with a character, and plunged in. I had to admit the prospect of being turned into something non-human was a good hook, and getting further into the story I was pleasantly surprised at how good it was. Hey, this isn't so bad, I thought. Indeed, it was the first DS game I played that I didn't tire of within the first few days. The ending - as most who played it have noted - was hard to take in a sad, but good way.

When the next Mystery Dungeon game came out earlier this year (2008, for those of us in the United States), I didn't debate at all whether to pick it up. If it was going to be even half as good as the original, it'd be worth it. With high expectations, I became a mudkip and choose a chimchar as my partner, and away we went in solving the mystery of just what the heck was going wrong in the world.

To sum it up, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness exceeded my highest expectations. The storyline was first-rate, keeping me on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen next. And the ending, after saving Temporal Tower from collapse… Well, I was eyeing the tissue box on the table next to me. Without a doubt, it was the saddest ending I had ever seen in either a game or a book or a movie. Powerfully emotional stuff.

Wow, this was a _kid's_ game?

At that point, I was fairly convinced it could have stood up to many other stories as good adult reading.

As in the original game, things were made right after the credits and the second story was quite welcomed, but that was only delaying the inevitable; the end did finally come. Even though Nintendo is currently putting out a steady stream of additional missions, they are just that: missions, with no extension to the story line.

To be frank, it was hard to say goodbye. Together with my partner, we'd been through a lot and many of the characters become almost as real as those of real people, which is another sign of a good story. With many ideas swirling around in my head about a new plot, about a month after completing the game I came to a decision: I was not yet ready to say goodbye. No, I was going to continue the story and see what happened.

I didn't make this decision lightly: Over the years I have written numerous other stories, a couple even being posted on the internet as a series over the course of a year and a half. I well knew the time commitment such an undertaking would require. Yet, in less than five months I managed to whip out over two hundred fifty pages of a first draft, a definite record for me!

Other then finishing at least one draft, I set some other goals for this story.

For one, I wanted to make things "slightly" more realistic. I say slightly, because I didn't intend to modify the Pokémon universe in any major way, but some things clearly had to change. First up was character appearances. I hate to say it, but flames constantly burning from one's body, such as an infernape's "mane", didn't strike me as very probable. Fortunately that was an easy, minor change (hair instead of flames) and one I thought worked rather well.

A more difficult challenge was Pokémon attacks. Some of them just aren't (scientifically) possible. One example is the water gun attack: just where _does_ all that water come from? So I limited attacks to those where I could image a even slightly reasonable explanation could be had.

Another goal was to provide answers to a few lingering questions from the game's storyline. In fact, these provided the opening for this story. The first, I guess most obvious one, is just how did you and Grovyle travel to the Pokémon world? Closely related to that is where is this Pokémon world? Although as far as I know (and I don't pretend to know everything Pokémon), it wasn't explicitly stated anywhere where this Pokémon world or what it's relation to the human world (Earth) is, so I believe it's a reasonable assumption the Pokémon world is a different planet. The ending to the first Mystery Dungeon provided a pretty solid clue, where you are apparently traveling through space back to your own world. (Whether this Pokémon world is the same one as in the previous game is another question entirely.)

Back to the first question: How did you get there? In the television series, there was no real (realistic) evidence humans had space travel advanced enough to even journey to the nearest planets. In this story, I provide my own explanation how such travel was accomplished and the numerous ramifications from it.

Yet another question is who were you as a human, which I'll give my version of the answer to.

A third goal was to stay as canon with the game and television series as possible (excepting the changes I already noted above). At this point I should reiterate that I'm not a Pokémon expert, and I'm sure there is an inconsistency or two somewhere, some intentional. [One I know of is that a swampert is not supposed to be susceptible to electric attacks. However, by the time I found that out it was way too late to change things. Besides, _realistically_, just about any living thing is going to be affected by a direct hit from a bolt of electricity. I'm just saying by being a (partial) water type, a swampert is going to feel it no matter what. ]

Since in the game I evolved my character and partner, the two central characters in this story are a swampert and infernape. It goes without saying most readers who played the game will have had different characters, which probably will make this story more meaningful for some, but not others. Although I wish I could substitute other Pokémon in for the main characters to match whoever each reader played, that just wasn't possible. I still hope you'll find this story enjoyable.

Finally, looking to the future and perhaps dreaming a little (OK, maybe a lot), if anyone from the Pokémon franchise is reading this (especially anyone who is involved with the production of the series and movies), I certainly wouldn't mind seeing the Mystery Dungeon game (and, if I could be so bold, this story too) made into a television series or a movie. If I could go even further (since wishing costs nothing), I'd imagine this story being made into a _live-action_ movie. I'd certainly be more than willing to talk to a producer about it!

Feel free to shoot me a PM through the FanFiction site anytime.

* * *

**Chapter 1: A Meeting**

Leo didn't know the place. It was terribly dark with few visual clues, but the trees rustling around him placed him in a forest. Other than the slight wind, it felt…wrong, like he wasn't supposed to be there. He also sensed someone else with him, confirmed when a smooth, slightly sticky hand grasped him gently on the arm. Instantly, he could tell his partner didn't like this place any more than he did and was just as tense.

His partner…in the darkness, he couldn't see him clearly, though he was right next to him.

Movement…a moan and a thud. He felt his partner's grasp release, but before he could do anything, a sharp pain came to the back of his head; he met the ground hard.

"Leo. Leo!"

He moaned, trying to move as a barely discernable face appeared over him, light from somewhere illuminating it. A human face… It was smiling, not kindly.

"Leo. Get up!"

How could he? Consciousness was fading…

"Come on, Leo. It's morning. Time to get up. We have things to do!"

Actually, he discovered he could move. And it was suddenly bright; too darned bright. Moving to cover his eyes with his blue skinned arm, he moaned, this time for real. Ugh…another dream…

"Wow, Leo. When you sleep, you really sleep." Blaze, his long-time partner and closest friend, was smiling as well as a red-faced infernape could, which was to say quite well.

"Uh, sorry," Leo replied, getting himself up with considerable effort from his bed of soft straw. A human face… Even as he tried to remember what it looked like, the image was fading from his memory. Darn.

While Blaze was busying himself in bringing out berries from the hard clay pots that represented their food stores, he sluggishly tromped to the small pool at one end of their abode. The shallow basin held a constant supply of fresh water, fed by a small spring in the side of the cliff, which was possible since their home was cut into the very side of the cliff that Treasure Town was located on, though still a short distance from it. It was the perfect home, never too hot or too cool, and the view of the sea below them was breath-taking.

The cool water in the basin didn't just help wake him up, it also just plain felt good on his skin. As a swampert, water was especially good for him, helping moisturize a skin that didn't always see as much moisture as it preferred. Such was the consequence of being a member of an explorer team, he briefly lamented. But really, he wouldn't have it any other way.

Leo finished by plunging his head further into the bowl, getting water up around his two head fins and using his fingers to splash the water around them, paying special attention to the sensitive skin stretched between the spines, before heading over the breakfast plate Blaze had prepared.

The morning meal was the usual quick affair, with the handfuls of berries and an apple downed in a mere moment. Unlike dinners, breakfasts and any meals in between were purely utilitarian. You ate because you had to. Dinners though, were more like social events and even now after having been graduated from the guild for well over a year, he and Blaze still occasionally showed up there to eat with their old friends.

This morning however, they had a different, much more common reason for going there.

The short walk to Treasure Town was as nice as any morning as of late; the grass was still sparkling with the drying dew, gentle winds were beginning to stir and rustle the leaves of trees that lined the path, the feel of the warming earth of the path on his feet was perfect. Yet…Leo found his mind wondering back to his dream, and it was with a start he found Blaze waving his purple fingers in front of his face.

"Another dream?" Blaze asked in the tone that he already knew the answer.

Of course, he had told his partner on other mornings when he had gotten one of these dreams that left him wondering. And as usual, he remembered little other than: "There was a human in it again. But this time, I saw a face. I just can't remember it though." He sighed, Blaze returning a gaze of curiosity and worry… No, _mild concern_, in his expression.

"Last dream you had like that was a week ago. But they're getting more frequent?"

Leo had to nod. "I was in a dark place with someone else…a Pokémon, I think. But there was also a human again. He…she, I don't remember, was right over me." The more he tried to remember, the more confused he felt.

"Did you recognize it?"

"Can't remember." He felt frustration as a result.

They fell silent as they approached town until Blaze spoke again, "Would be hard to believe Darkrai could be using his powers again and invading your dreams. Last we heard, his memory was still gone."

"Dunno, Blaze. This feels…different. Not like when he was actually _in_ our dreams."

"Like how?"

"Just…" It was hard to put into words, exactly; he ended up shrugging. "Dunno. It just feels _different_, not like someone is actually in there with me or anything."

Blaze gave a wave and greeting as they walked past Kangaskhan and her warehouse. Now caring for her own infant, she was a bit more busy now than she used to be, but still returned a wave even as she was stooping over some kind of pot with something cooking in it. It smelled good…

All the other shops were in good order as usual and likewise, a couple other exploration teams were in town, either resupplying or trying to gather the next great hot tip on where to find some long-buried treasure.

"Sorry, don't know," Leo replied with a shrug as a nidoking came up to them, asking about where to find some type of special crystal before waving off a unfamiliar delibird peddling some "special" herbs.

But it wasn't as busy as it used to be. Since he and Blaze together saved the planet twice and defeated the plans of Darkrai to plunge it into eternal darkness, there just hadn't been all that many places to explore or great adventures to embark on.

Over a year of peace and tranquility… And most of what could be explored had been, with he and Blaze having done a lot of it, though mostly out of necessity. Indeed, even though there were other exploration teams with more experience, absolutely none had even close to their accomplishments. If they were human, they'd have a dozen medals pinned to their chests on some decorative uniform…

…!

Leo checked himself. Medals pinned to a chest? How would he know that about humans? Though he had been human at one time, the erasure of his memory was still quite complete, save for his name. So…was it really a memory, some buried knowledge he still had, or did he just make that up? It _felt_ logical, though. Humans, he was told, wore clothes, so why wouldn't they pin medals to them?

Oddly, it wasn't the first time he felt as if he remembered something, or at least had some buried knowledge of the human world come back. In fact lately, it was almost every day, but all incidental stuff. Nothing that really mattered. Just very minor bits. Certainly he remembered nothing about himself.

Could it all be connected to his dreams?

Leo gave a wave to the bank, not sure if Duskull saw him or not.

"Wonder if they'll be any interesting criminals to catch today?" Blaze wondered aloud. "Seems fewer and fewer as time goes on."

"There are fewer," his partner's sentiments echoing his own earlier thoughts about new places to explore running out.

Outside town once again, Wigglytuff's guild appeared on the hill before them, and they waited patiently while Diglet identified and greeted them by name. Having been over the entrance grill so many times, the little groundling had no trouble recognizing them by footprint, and once inside, said their normal hellos to the various guild recruits they saw on the way to the job boards. It seemed so long ago when they were a mere chimchar and mudkip walking in for the first time, looking to become members of the guild (and to get some answers). A lot sure had happened in those three years since!

Their first stop, as always, was that of the wanted criminals. The gradual reduction in crime was both good and bad. Obviously, it was good to have less crime. On the other hand, it meant less available work.

"Ugh, only one new job since last week!" Blaze lamented.

Leo unpinned the paper with his three-fingered hand to have a closer look. "It's on the other side of the continent."

"Ha ha, by the time the job is posted here, every other team out there has already left in pursuit. Jobs from that side always get here last."

"I feel sorry for the criminal." Blaze was certainly right and Leo pinned the paper back before they went to the other board. Although it had jobs not anywhere close to exciting as the one with criminals, there were at least several more jobs posted. Yet very few held much promise.

"Could escort a bulbasaur," Blaze said with little enthusiasm, reading one.

"Or find a lost heirloom staff," Leo read from another. Looking over the others, none were really jumping out at him as anything different.

In a more-or-less bored sounding voice, "Maybe we should just pick a point on the map we haven't been to before and go," Blaze suggested.

Leo frowned, "Not many of those left."

"Always the other side of the planet," Blaze said. "Need a boat, though."

As if those were easy to get! "Suppose we could find Lapras and ask her to ferry us," he suggested after a sigh, though he was only being half serious. An undertaking as large as going across one of the vast outlying seas was a huge commitment, one that he wasn't so sure about.

"Hey, Blaze, Leo!"

Turning around with his partner at the more-than-familiar voice, "Hi Loudred," he greeted in unison with Blaze, covering his ears from the excessive volume that was Loudred's trademark.

"Guess what?"

"What?" Blaze asked in a clearly hopeful tone.

Leo was also hopeful that maybe their old friend had some exciting news to share.

"I'm going to be taking the graduation examine this year!"

Alright, not quite the news he had been hoping for, but on the other hand he felt suddenly happy for the blue big-mouth Pokémon, smile crossing his face. "Really? That's great! Second time around, you'll pass for sure!" trying to give their former fellow guild recruit some confidence.

Loudred licked his lips and wiped a big hand over one of his equally big ears for a moment. Then after looking around as if making sure no one was near, leaned closer. In one of the quietest voices he had ever spoken with: "Just between us, I'm glad you guys already graduated. They'd be no way I could graduate with you two as one of the Grand Master's henchmen."

"Mr. Loudred!"

Loudred visibly jumped at the only somewhat louder voice behind him, swinging around nearly as fast. The small colorful bird that was the owner of the voice didn't lose a beat though, as he flew down from the upper level to land before him: "Shouldn't you be down below, supervising Diglet?"

"Sorry Chatot," I just wanted to give the good news to Blaze and Leo."

"Right. But it will be _bad_ news if you don't continue your duties for this morning. And you need to train this afternoon. The Grand Master, _as you already know_, isn't easy to get past."

"Same old Chatot," Blaze whispered.

Leo grinned. Wigglytuff's second was as much a sergeant as ever.

Loudred was off to the lower level in short order, leaving Chatot standing in front of them, clearly with some business yet. "Good morning, Blaze, Leo. I was actually looking for you, but I see you're already here."

"Oh?" Leo said, crossing his thick blue arms across his white chest, suddenly curious.

Chatot walked to stand almost directly underneath them, yet looked nearly straight upward with ease. "Yes, Wigglytuff asked me to bring you to the beach as soon as I found you. Something's up."

"Something?" Blaze asked, raising his eyebrows and making the white hair on his forehead stand up a little.

"Yes." In a little lower voice: "Dialga's here…"

Leo nearly coughed, "Dialga?"

"And another," the small multi-colored bird said with a flap of his wings that spoke of unease.

* * *

"Dialga, he _is_ still a member of your team, is he not?" Chatot asked once they got outside on the path to the beach.

Blaze answered affirmative. "But about a year since we've seen him. He needed to go back to Temporal Tower to oversee final repairs and to attend to _other matters_, he said. I didn't think we would see him again."

Leo noticed the red and yellow hair that formed the long mane from the top of his partner's head seemed to puff a little, and he knew Blaze still harbored just a slight amount of resentment at the way Dialga had left them. Leo forgave him on the spot, but the annoyed tone Dialga had exhibited toward them still bothered Blaze, he figured.

"Hm. Still, quite an accomplishment to have an ancient deity walk with you, even if only for a few times. I only met him once before this morning, you know. 'Being an honor' doesn't begin to describe it."

"Too bad you haven't met Palkia yet," Leo teased.

"Yes, I heard you have him on your team too," Chatot said with a flutter of his wings, bringing the wingtips close together as if rapping the ends of fingers together. "If I _ever_ get the chance to met him too, I surely don't know what else I could hope for in my life."

Leo couldn't help but feel proud. They had to be the only Pokémon in existence _ever_ who had the privilege of not just seeing, but working with the two very powerful and deity-like beings. "Well, Palkia disappeared too a while ago," he finally admitted. "I think like Dialga, he needed to attend to important matters." Then sighing, "Going on explorations and catching criminals just doesn't compare in importance to holding time and space together, I guess."

"That's probably quite true," Chatot said, now more serious. "Since the incident with the near collapse of Temporal Tower and the almost breakdown of space, I'm sure both of them are keeping a much closer eye on things from now on. I know I would be. Not that I presume to know much about it, of course! Which makes me doubly curious what brings Dialga here this morning, and what he wants with you two."

"And Wigglytuff," Leo furthered. After all, if Dialga wanted to see just Blaze and himself, he certainly could have "popped" himself in without much trouble.

"Who is this other you mentioned?" Blaze asked, hopping over a small depression in the bare earth path like only a monkey could do and leaving a nice-size imprint in the still barely moist dirt.

"I've never seen her type before, but she seemed important. She also looked quite…serious. Not sure if even Wigglytuff knew her. He sent me to find you before I could ask for a name."

The beach stretched out before them as they strode down the path to near the ocean. Sure enough, not far away were three Pokémon. The first, towering over the other two, was none other than Dialga himself. Even in the shade of the cliff, the brilliance of his deep blue and sliver scales far outshone Leo's own pale-blue swampert skin. Next was Wigglytuff, the often playful pink and white Pokémon whose often cavalier and unserious attitude belied his great intelligence and knowledge. The last one…

He had to look carefully; it was small, light green, and floating in mid-air… At once, he took in a sharp breath at the same moment as Blaze.

"Is…that…"

"_Can't_ be," Leo replied, knowing full well what his partner was thinking. "She was supposed to have been erased from existence like me and Grovyle!"

Chatot fluttered himself up in front of them. "Erased? You mean you _know_ her?"

"We've met…I think," Leo replied, still stunned. Did Dialga bring her back, like he did for himself?

The three Pokémon seemed to notice their presence and Wigglytuff motioned them to hurry up, to which Leo and Blaze complied though the loose sand made running just a little difficult.

Dialga spoke first, in his deep, semi-raspy voice: "Leo, Blaze, it is good to see the two of you again. I see you've both evolved since I last saw you."

Leo gave a nod and a broad smile, noting Blaze barely giving any sign of greeting. "Good to see you too. And Palkia finally helped us to evolve. I do like walking on two legs instead of four much better," eliciting a small amount of chuckling around. Not that his days as a mudkip were bad, but not having use of full-time hands… "How's the repairs to the tower going?"

"They are complete, as are all vestiges of the damage to time from the event are also healed."

"Very glad to hear that." Truly, he was, but his eyes were for the moment on the smallest Pokémon in front of them. "Celebi. It's…good to see you too again."

The floating Pokémon widened her eyes just a bit. In a gentle voice that he almost couldn't hear above the roar of the surf, "I'm sorry, but I don't think we've met, though I have heard much about you two and what you did."

Blaze's face mirrored his own puzzlement.

"You know her, but she doesn't know you," Wigglytuff virtually sang out in his near sing-song voice.

From his expression, Chatot appeared to be the only one more confused then either he or Blaze.

"Maybe I should start explaining now," Dialga said with a cursory glance to both Wigglytuff and Celebi. Focusing down on both Leo and Blaze: "Before I tell you what's taking place, you first need to understand two concepts. The first is, even though the future had changed when you prevented Temporal Tower's collapse, those who were part of that future that no longer exists aren't necessarily gone. You, Leo, even though your existence had faded out and I brought you back, it isn't totally accurate to say you wouldn't have existed otherwise."

Leo spared a glance to Blaze, who clearly wasn't getting it any better than himself. "But I thought I…disappeared because we changed my past."

"That is true. However…" Taking a small step toward the two of them, the dragon used one of his large silver claws to scratch a long line in the sand between them. "Think of this line as time. Events that happen, all happen in a progression, one after the other. This," Dialga paused to make a small cross-hatch near one end, "was when Wigglytuff became headmaster of his guild."

"A long time ago," Wigglytuff retorted at his own expense.

Dialga made another mark further along. "At this point a storm knocked over a tree that crashed into Kangaskhan's storehouse in Treasure Town."

"That was also a few years ago," Chatot pointed out.

"Seven years, eight months and twenty-two days, to be a little more accurate."

Chatot let his beak hang open a little. "Um…yes, of course you would know the exact…"

Another couple cross-hatches, close together, "A drop of water dripped from a leaf in Fog-Bound forest nearly four years ago, and Blaze arrived at Treasure Town for the first time.

"Oh," Blaze exclaimed.

"And this," Dialga made a deeper cross-hatch nearer to the last event, "was your arrival here as a Pokémon, Leo, after having traveled back in time."

Being unable to help it, Leo looked to the very spot nearby where he had opened his eyes for the first time as a Pokémon, finding a worried Blaze standing over him. The words "Seems so long ago…" left him.

"This was the point where you and your partner Grovyle first entered this world from the human world in an attempt to investigate what was happening…"

Looking back to the sand, this cross-hatch was much further along.

"…and then left to go into the past not long after." Another cross-hatch virtually indistinguishable from the former. "Dusknoir brought both you and Blaze back into the future to this point…" Again, nearly on top of the last cross-hatch, "and you, Blaze and Grovyle then returned back to here." It was somewhat in front of the cross-hatch representing the point he had first arrived as a Pokémon.

"Hm…" Blaze said thoughtfully, "…so, when Leo and I succeeded in stopping the collapse of Temporal Tower was…"

With emphasis, Dialga slowly scored a deep line across the "time" line that was again, very close to the one representing when they returned from the future, escaping Dusknoir. "It's the same point where this time line changes with the creation of a new future, and the old one ceases to exist." From that particular point, Dialga scratched a short angled line and continued it parallel and below the old one. "We are now in this future."

Leo thought he got all that. In fact…it somehow made perfect sense. Not only that, once it had been laid out before him in the sand, he started guessing where Dialga was going with this explanation. Carefully and in a lower voice: "When was I born?"

"Huh?" Blaze's eyes widened as did Chatot's.

Looking up to the blue-scaled dragon's face, Leo swore there was a smile creeping across it. "HERE," he replied in a suddenly louder voice, putting the cross-hatch well before Wigglytuff's accession to Guildmaster.


	2. Chapter 2: Memories

**Chapter 2: Memories**

Gasps escaped Blaze and Chatot; a wingull gave it's morning call overhead while riding the cool sea breezes.

Chatot recovered quickly though, "You're old! I wouldn't have guessed it."

Wigglytuff giggled, "That's not all; two are so much better then one."

"_Not usually_, Guildmaster," Dialga almost scolded.

"But in this case, maybe?" Wigglytuff returned, earning Dialga's sigh.

"I see," Leo said, nearly surprising himself in full comprehension before feeling a tap on his shoulder from Blaze.

"I'm not getting this."

Dialga looked down to him, like a teacher about to give a lesson. "When the Future That No Longer Exists was erased, anything that was a product of that future also was erased from existence. This Leo was one of those products. Because of the events that happened _only_ in _that_ future, he came to this world, investigated the problem afflicting it, and went into the past, becoming a Pokémon in the process. Without the events in that future, none of that happened to Leo." Pointing with his claw to the point in the sand where the new future diverged, "But Leo was born long before this point. Changing the timeline anywhere _after_ his birth can never affect him being born. Leo, the Pokémon, could no longer exist because the future he was a product of was erased. Leo, _the human_, continues to live, since his birth wasn't affected. This human never came to the Pokémon world and never became a Pokémon, because there was never anything to investigate. Nothing happened as far as he's concerned."

Blaze's eyes widened even further as he glanced between Wigglytuff, Dialga and Leo. "Another you, your human…_self,_ is still alive…I mean, right now?"

"Exactly," Dialga confirmed. "There are currently two Leos in existence. One human, and one Pokémon, each currently on different worlds, and each having exactly the same past until this point," Dialga again indicating the divergence point in the sand, "but with different pasts after this." He paused before continuing, "Let's say I violated a few rules bringing him back, but between your sorrow at his loss, and my debt to him for having…well, basically saved my life _and_ the world, the least I could do was bring him back into existence."

"Like you did Celebi," Blaze furthered.

"No," Celebi said, again just a little too softly then Leo would have liked. "I'm not the same Celebi you met in the Future That No Longer Exists. My history also changed at that point. Since that future you met me in never happened, I therefore never met you, Leo or Grovyle."

"When you change the past, it certainly can make things complicated," Chatot noted.

"And it's part of my burden to prevent things like this _from_ happening." With a smile to Leo, "However, every once in a it does give me something interesting to do." Raising his giant foot, Dialga gently touched the top of Leo's forehead.

Leo grinned.

"Now, I will tell you the second concept the two of you need to understand. The human world and this world are two different worlds in this galaxy we're all part of, but they are very close in relation to each other. And in fact, portals have been known to open between the two in rare cases. Even Palkia has played around by making some once in a while, going so far as to bring a few humans here in ancient times. Otherwise, space travel is the usual method of travel by certain enlightened Pokémon, as most know. That's how you know about the human world and of humans. As a consequence of being so close together in space, relatively speaking, certain major events in one, such as the collapse of Temporal Tower or spatial disruptions, would be at least partially felt in the other. The Paralysis of Time event that happened in the Future That No Longer Exists wasn't just isolated to this world, but the event spread out across space and had some effect on the nearest star systems, including the human world, which lead Leo and his partner to come to this one to search for the source."

Dialga paused, as if letting it sink in. "Now about the problem that is coming. Do you remember Dakrai's second assault on this world, when he tried to distort space?"

Leo nodded with Blaze. How could they forget?

"He tried to use the small distortion around the two of you that was created because you came from the future."

"That distortion was what was preventing us from evolving, too, according to Palkia," Blaze added.

"Yes, however there is an additional, albeit small, distortion around Leo as a result of being from a non-existent timeline."

"I have _two_ distortions around me?"

"Three, actually."

"_Three?_"

"The third isn't around this Leo though."

"It's around my human self?"

Dialga nodded. "They're like a combination of a time and space distortion, similar to a small dimensional tear, but are really harmless."

"Dimensional?"

"If the universe was one big house, a dimension would be a room inside it, except each room occupies exactly the same space. When you combine a time and space distortion into one, it can appear as if you're dealing with a different dimension. But I'm digressing. Because there are two of you in existence, this second distortion around you is mirrored around your human self, and they're simply the result of keeping things in balance. _Normally_, that is."

"How's that?" Leo was starting to not like where this was going all of the sudden.

"After the repair of Temporal Tower, I regained my full abilities to sense time. My sense of the future is limited, but I've started feeling a…whisper, for lack of a better word, coming from the future. All I know at this moment is it has something to do with the fields around you and your human counterpart. Almost like there is something that is making them unbalanced in the future. My belief is something bad is going to happen as a result if the problem isn't corrected. It's not unlike what I felt a while before the assault on Temporal Tower, only I was a little too arrogant in the belief of my own abilities at the time to think it would become as serious as it did."

"So you think Temporal Tower could collapse still?" Blaze asked with some alarm.

"No, not that; this could be worse, or not. I don't know. I just know something abnormal is happening in the future, it has something to do with the two distortions, and I can already sense it. The best way to deal with it to is to _eliminate the problem now_, before it gets to a point where something worse will happen." Dialga fixed his gaze squarely on Leo.

Leo _really_ didn't like where this was going at all, taking a step back from the huge dragon. If he was once again the source of the problem, it was sounding like the best way to deal with it was to make him disappear. After being almost erased from existence twice (and Blaze once), he really didn't care about flirting with a third time around!

"Huh?" Then Blaze appeared to finally catch on, moving between Leo and time-controlling Pokémon. "Hey! Anyone try to erase Leo, they'll have to do it _through me_."

Dialga suddenly let out a deep rasping chuckle. "Oh don't worry, I'm not about to undo what I did. I've grown a little too fond of you. You also, Blaze."

Audible sighs came from the others.

"Would never have guessed it," Blaze mumbled sarcastically.

"Then what can be done about this?" Chatot asked with a flutter.

"Leo…and Blaze, I need to ask the two of you for a favor, but hear me out before you agree."

Leo exchanged glances with his partner, Blaze frowning. "Alright."

"Since I don't know what the exact problem is, or when it's going to happen, I need you to go to the human world."

"Say…_what_?" Chatot exclaimed. Even Wigglytuff reacted some, though it was apparent he already knew what the request was going to be.

"I believe you are the ideal person to go, Leo, since it involves you. Once there, you need to do what you did when you first came to this world. Namely, investigate and figure out the problem and perhaps help me fix it if you can. Since it does involve your other self, you need to _find_ your other self. I will assure you, nothing bad will happen to the continuity of time when the two of you meet."

Leo felt speechless. Never once had the thought crossed his mind of ever going back (not that he knew how in any case). He had no memories of the human world, no idea who he was before be become Pokémon other then the few words Grovyle spoke of him two years before. In short, he felt nothing for his old home.

"Uh…" Blaze stammered. Finally: "Will…Leo become human again?"

"Leo, do you want to become human again?"

All eyes went on him as the question sunk in. Did he? On the odd occasion, it was a question he'd asked himself. But the answer now was the same as before - as far as he was concerned, his life first began when he become a Pokémon. "No, I don't think so."

"That is good. I wouldn't know how to change you back anyway. You told me once how Darkrai explained how you were transformed?"

Leo nodded.

"Then only he knows how that happened and how to reverse it. I can only assume since you intercepted an attack that was meant for Grovyle, in other words a Pokémon, the attack had a different and perhaps unknown affect on a human, especially when combined with the time warp you were in at that moment. Leo, a Pokémon you will remain for as long as I can see."

And…he was glad at that.

"There is one other thing, before you answer," Dialga added. "Once you're in the human world, you will be there for a while, I'm not sure how long. Artificially making portals between the two worlds is taxing for Palkia and takes a lot of energy; it could be many months."

"Can't you go yourself?" Blaze blurted out. "Can't you go between the worlds easier than us!"

His sudden outburst took Leo aback.

"I _will_ be going, but I'm not exactly inconspicuous! If I were to be seen, I'd create a very big commotion. I am a very old and legendary Pokémon, or so I've been told. The two of you will blend in and be far more able to search for the cause of the problem. Leo, even though you don't remember anything, I'm hoping you yet retain some knowledge of the human world that may prove useful. I only see things there on a macro scale; I miss the details that you might know or remember."

"But…I remember nothing…" The dreams…could they really be memories?

"You might once you get there, though. And your Dimensional Scream ability may also prove useful. Your human counterpart certainly has the same ability."

Not that he'd had any visions lately, but he also hadn't been doing much that would probably have triggered it either. Leo ran a hand along the gills on one side of his face, basically knowing saying no didn't sound like a (good) option. Dialga had put forth a solid argument on why he had to go. But Blaze…

Facing his partner, "Look, I'm the only one who has to go. I won't be hurt if you decide to stay this time." Putting a hand on his shoulder, he found him shaking. Blaze…? He wanted to ask what was wrong, but thought better of it in front of the others. Since he became an infernape, he didn't like being seen as weak. Not even to him, sometimes.

His partner was looking out toward the sea when finally, he sighed. "I will always be by your side, Leo. And it sounds like we need to save the world one more time."

It sounded like the old Blaze, but he was still shaking. "Yes, it does sounds that way." To Dialga: "When would we have to leave?"

"Three days from now. Palkia needs some time to prepare for it. Along with myself, Palkia and the two of you, Celebi will also be going, though she will be traveling with me. It's only the two of you who need the portal to make the journey."

"I'll be doing my own investigating in conjunction with Dialga," Celebi said in her high-pitched voice, a little louder now, "but from a distance. Together, we're hoping to discover more about the future events. I'll also try to check up on you from time to time and bring any news either Dialga, Palkia, or myself discover, and vise versa."

Leo nodded, and with a final look to Blaze, "Then, I guess we'll do it."

Blaze nodded, not looking at all that confident.

"The worlds will be once again in your debt," Dialga said, with a long look at Blaze. "And Wigglytuff, as I asked, you'll be gathering together all the best Pokémon teams to standby in case they're needed?"

"Of course!" the pink guildmaster said with enthusiasm. "This will be exciting to gather so many of the best together!"

"What's this?" Chatot asked.

"In case some events happen in this world that need to be addressed," Dialga answered with a lowering of his large neck and head toward the tiny-in-comparison bird, making him hop back. "Not only am I unsure when or what is going to happen, I'm not completely sure which world they'll be happening on…or even if it will only be confined to one world. I can only presume since this involves Leo and his human counterpart, that if we send Leo to the human world, all of the events will take place there. But it is not a certainty. Considering the possible range of consequences, it would be best to be fully prepared. Not being so was one of my mistakes last time."

"Well…that does…sound like a good idea, then," the flustered Chatot readily admitted.

Facing Leo once again, Dialga continued: "You'll only be traveling between the two worlds, like you did before, Leo. You won't be traveling through time at all. As such, Palkia will open the doorway for you."

"Did he do that for me in the Future That No Longer Exists to get me to this world?" Leo asked.

"I don't know," the great dragon-like Pokémon replied. "You may had found one of the numerous portals that were opening as a result of the disturbances happening in the human world due to the paralysis in this one. Or something else entirely. I wasn't in the best frame of mind in that future, and that affects my ability to see that collapsed time line."

"Oh."

"Leo, Blaze, thank you. I know the worlds will thank you one more time for this. I hope to see you again in the human world when the opportunity presents itself. If not, this will be the last we shall see each other until you can return here. Please use the next three days to prepare. Palkia will come for you when the portal is ready. I must go now to make my own preparations."

* * *

Leo left the beach with Blaze soon after Dialga disappeared in a flash of light, while Wigglytuff, Chatot and Celebi went on with their own discussion. But before making any preparations, there was something far more pressing.

"Blaze, what's wrong?"

The infernape seemed to pause just slightly as they walked the path from the beach up to the cliff above. "What makes you think something's wrong?" he replied with a weak smile.

Just like in the old days, he knew Blaze was trying to put on a happy face for him, worried about letting him down. "We've been together for a long time." Putting a hand on his red-haired arm, Leo stopped him so he could face him. "You were shaking back there. I haven't known you to do that since we evolved. _What is wrong?_"

Looking down, his partner's smile faded into a worried expression. Taking a breath, "The stories…about the human world."

"Stories?" He thought they both heard the same stories, but none struck him as anything to be afraid of. "I don't understand."

"You haven't heard these ones; they aren't spoken here. But before I came to Treasure Town, I heard other stories. _Bad_ ones, Leo, handed down from those who were in the human world. Forced fighting, confinement, wars…even, evil humans and Pokémon."

Leo at once wanted to tell him that wasn't so, after all, he had been human and had been part of that world, but he remembered nothing about it, good or bad.

Blaze started to shake again even as Leo held him, "There was one story…some Pokémon there, created by a human who was extremely powerful…had unprecedented powers and had the ability to destroy worlds! Others that could suck the very soul out of you… You would end up in the unmentionable place for eternity…serving him!"

Leo gently placed his thick hands on either side of Blaze's face and raised his head to look at him. "Blaze, Grovyle and I both came from that world. How bad can it be?" Although he wasn't inclined to believe the stories, he still had to fight to get a sincere grin on his face.

It worked as some of the worry started melting from Blaze's face. "I guess, maybe it can't be that bad, then, ha ha?"

Leo felt his grin became easier. "Good." Releasing his partner's face, he gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

"After all, if the human world is full of others like you and Grovyle, it must be a wondrous, friendly place!"

"And so it must be!" Ugh…if only he could remember anything about it!

"So, now I suppose we need to get packing. We're going to have to bring a lot of stuff to last us for so long."

"Supplies may be easy to get there…" Again, if only he could remember! But the dreams…

"Leo, is there truly nothing you remember about the human world?"

"I don't know if those dreams mean anything, or if they're…" He stopped short on a sudden thought. Maybe…? "Let's pack for a shorter journey, first."

"Huh?"

"I think there's someone we should see before we leave. It's a long shot, actually probably a very long shot, but she just might be able to help us."

Blaze stared at him, confused.

Leo just smiled.

* * *

"AHH!" The nuzleaf went flying backward as Leo hit him with a water pulse, before crashing through a tree and tumbling back to the ground, definitely the worse for wear.

Blaze readied his own attack, mildly mocking: "You really should give up, little guy. Ha ha! You don't stand much chance here!"

The nuzleaf picked himself back up. "I can't get strong if I don't fight!" With that, he charged Blaze, who responded with some fire, only to miss when the smaller Pokémon dodged, threw a sharp leaf-shaped projectile at him (which burned up), and instead tried to land a leg-chop on Leo.

Raising one of his thick, strong arms was enough to block the attack and send the nuzleaf to the ground again by virtue of his own momentum. Before he could get up, Leo planted his large foot on top, effectively pinning the smaller and much lighter opponent. "It think this is over," he said triumphantly, but feeling only a slight exhilaration of victory over the far weaker Pokémon.

The nuzleaf continued struggling unsuccessfully for a moment, before finally resigning himself to the obvious.

Leo finally let him up. "Try weaker opponents next time. It's healthier."

Without another word, the grass-type Pokémon scurried off and disappeared into the undergrowth.

"Definitely didn't have this easy a time last time we were through here," Blaze commented. "The Pokémon here are getting weak."

Leo knew his partner knew the real reason was they had become a whole lot stronger and more experienced since then. Still, it made a good joke. It also felt good to be doing a little sightseeing along the way, without the burden of someone to rescue or some criminal to apprehend. But they shortly reached their destination at the end of Steam Cave, and it was back to business as moist, cool breezes greeted them.

"Steam Lake," Blaze said, looking out over the expense of water. "Almost as beautiful as I remember. But it no longer glows from underneath."

"I think the time gear is far better where it is," Leo pointed out.

"Yeah, we did go through a lot to get it there."

Blaze was close to his old self again, making Leo feel as happy as he could be, considering where they had to go in two days. He spent a few moments savoring the view, it's slightly earthy scent, and memories of the first time they came to the lake. It also served to pass the time while they waited…

"Leo! Blaze!"

"Uxie!" Blaze shouted.

"It's very good to see you again," Leo furthered, turning around with his partner to greet the tiny, floating Pokémon.

"Hey, what have you been up to all this time?" Blaze asked.

"I been doing a little exploring of my own this past while. Since I don't have a time gear to guard anymore, I'm nearly free to do as I like! I see…the two of you have evolved! Aren't you both handsome!" she grinned.

Leo swore Blaze's face turned a deeper shade of red. His own face, being the same light blue as most of his body with a white under-chin that stretched across his belly, affectively hid any flush face he might suffer. "Well, I figured I had walked on four legs long enough. And Blaze, well, he just wanted to match his temper to his flame better." Which earned him a good (and good-natured) slap on the back. Which didn't detract at all from the fact that the typical infernape _was_ more temperamental than the typical chimchar.

"So, you didn't come here to recruit me again, did you?" Her tone and folded arms said one thing, but her smile said she wouldn't mind at all.

"Actually, we were hoping you could help us with something else."

"Oh?"

Blaze tapped him before pointing to the reddening sun of late afternoon. "How about if we camp here, and tell you everything that's happening over some dinner?"

"I'll get some berries!" Uxie exclaimed.

* * *

"So that's the end of it. Dialga doesn't know what disaster is looming, but we have to go to the human world to stop it."

Blaze did a nice job of explaining everything Leo thought, while forcing just one more large blue berry into his mouth to chew it slowly, enjoying the juicy sweetness of it. Whatever berries grew around the lake, they weren't to be found anywhere else that he knew of. Uxie was lucky to have such a supply nearby.

"I've never been to the human world, but it sounds like a dangerous mission," Uxie solemnly replied, having seemingly lost her appetite during Blaze's story. "Needless to say, I hope you all succeed. We don't need yet another impending disaster. But you mentioned you need my help. Of course you have it. What is it I can do?"

"Well," Leo said, rushing to get the last of the berry down his throat, "you have the ability to erase memories of this place."

"You know that is true," Uxie confirmed.

"If you have the ability to erase some memories, do you have any ability to restore, or even to help a little in restoring memories? I still have no recollection of the human world, and if we have to go there, remembering anything at all could help us a lot."

Uxie opened her eyes a little more, as if about to reply, but Leo continued, "I don't know if this makes any difference, but I have been having dreams lately. I see flashes of humans, of events I have no memory of. I wonder if maybe…I might actually be starting to remember just the tiniest bits of things. If that's true, maybe all I need is just a nudge to remember more." Leo waited with Blaze for Uxie to either give them good news, or bad.

Her expression was hard to read, staying silent for many moments, but looked both thoughtful and undecided. Finally, "I erase memories by briefly going into someone's mind and blocking out anything pertaining to this lake. Usually such memories are the most recent and easiest to see. I've never tried unblocking memories, so I don't know if I can. But given the seriousness of the situation, I'm willing to give it a try…though there is a danger! The memories you need to recover are going to be deep and the hardest to access, and given I'm unsure what effect any of my efforts will have, I could end up doing great harm. The only assurance I can give is I will use the utmost care I can."

Blaze gave a sigh of disappointment. "Well, it's probably not worth…"

"What's the worst that can happen?" Leo asked, earning a surprised look from his partner.

Uxie replied firmly: "You will lose memories that you now have and perhaps even parts of your personality could be…lost or changed. You could lose pieces of yourself. Poking around in someone's mind isn't something to be taken lightly."

Losing memories was one thing, but losing parts of who he was?

Blaze whipped his tail, taking on a utterly serious look. "Leo, you can't risk this! Tell me you're not considering it!"

His mind wondered back to when he was watching Grovyle and Dusknoir grapple at the base of the rainbow ship. Dusknoir said what would happen if he succeeded in changing the time line. Yet Grovyle was willing to sacrifice himself then, as was he. But…he couldn't really afford to do that in this situation, not right now. If something went terribly wrong here, would he be able to even start the mission? It could very well end right here and now.

"Though…there may be another…though perhaps useless thing I could try," Uxie said hesitantly. "It really wouldn't be much, but I might be able to read through your mind and see if there is some large portion of your mind that is closed. Losing as much memory as you did, I somewhat expect to find such. I could confine anything I do to only well within that area. The risk would be smaller, but any memories I could manage to unblock, _assuming I can do such_, will likely have other blocks to go through before you would truly remember them. It would be like only going half-way on a long journey and then quitting. Probably this would accomplish nothing, but there is a chance. The fact that you believe you may already be starting to remember anything at all, may make this slightly more successful than otherwise."

Blaze looked at once far less worried, mirroring Leo's feeling. "That sounds much better."

"Could I still lose parts of myself?"

"Very unlikely. The risk would be losing forever that which you have already lost, but may otherwise recover in the future."

"So I might permanently lose some of my lost memories which I only _might_ have recovered later?"

The small, petite Pokémon nodded.

"Then, let's try it," Leo said, noting Blaze's nod.

"Very well. This could take some time, though, and…" Uxie turned away a little, her skin taking a slightly different hue. "As I scan through your mind, I will be able to read your memories. Will that bother you?"

For the second time that day, Leo was glad his skin was blush-proof. He spontaneously decided to turn it around a little: "Not if it's you doing the reading."

Uxie covered her mouth, apparently hiding a smile, but doing nothing to hide the deepening blush on her face. Yet, the psychic being appeared to recover herself quite nicely after a brief moment. "Well, let's get started." Moving her two tails around in front of her, she floated around behind him.

Leo felt the touch of her small hands on his forehead where his two head fins emerged, while two lighter touches came to the back of his head, near the base of his skull. It felt…nice, warm…

Uxie spoke with barely a whisper: "Now, just take a deep breath and relax. I'm not real sure what you're going to experience, but it won't hurt…"

Leo breathed as she instructed as continuing warmth emanated from the four spots where she was touching him. It was…very relaxing. So much so, he couldn't keep his eyes open. But it wasn't sleep. Instead, he heard water…waves. A beach? He opened his eyes and Blaze was standing over him.

What… He felt confused, disorientated.

"Hey…hey! You alright?"

Leo picked himself up off the sand on…four legs. Huh?

Oh…a memory! When he first woke up as a Pokémon…yet he was experiencing it once again as if it was real. Then as soon as he realized it, he was elsewhere. Underground, a grate high above, serving as the only source of light.

Ugh. Sentry duty. His least favorite activity, since he never became any good at recognizing feet. He knew what was going to happen that evening: no supper. He felt relief when the next moment wasn't that, but the time they first met Uxie!

Well, of course he liked her. She was rather cute, after all. He felt bad when the time gear was stolen from her, and not just because he felt like he and the rest of the Guild failed with their promise of keeping it a secret. But more because… Well, she was really nice, too.

"Grovyle!" He and Blaze raced to where the spiritomb left him laying after nearly doing him in.

Other events passed in quick succession, until he was on a long, stone bridge, going down-hill. Blaze was ahead of him, but he couldn't keep up. His legs felt heavy…heavier…and ultimately he couldn't move. Yes, this was the end he knew, as light started enveloping him.

_No! Not this memory!_

Blaze came rushing back to him with a most worried expression on his chimchar face. "Leo! What's happening?"

The memory was every bit real…his existence was fading. He had to urge Blaze to keep going, to keep living. For his friend's sake, he could not leave him in despair even as he feared what was about to happen. But time was so short. "Blaze, even after I'm gone, I will never forget you."

Blaze only stared back as tears fell freely from his face.

Leo could no longer fight his own tears as the light grew very bright and…

Waves were crashing. It was the beach again.

"Palkia?"

"We will fight this vile Darkrai together!" the great dragon of space replied.

But then he was on the shore of a lake. Many Pokémon were flying around a central fountain out in the middle as a pale light shone from above…

"We are done," a familiar voice said behind him.

"Huh? Already?" Leo swung around as the warmth faded from his head, noticing with mild shock how tired Uxie suddenly looked, her arms hanging listless by her side.

"Leo! You two were at it for a long time," Blaze informed from nearby. "It's late in the night!"

He looked to the sky in surprise that what Blaze said was true. The stars and moon were in full brilliance and the air was cool after so many hours of night.

"I…don't know if I was able to do anything, but…only time will tell. I must sleep now." Leo barely caught the spirit Pokémon as she started to fall. "Just lay me down by that rock."

Leo put her down by the rock she had indicted; she was already asleep.

Blaze tugged him back to the beds he had made up at some point. "I think she'll be alright. It just what she said, she needs sleep."

Leo nodded. "You're probably right." He sat on his bed of grass, thinking back on all the memories stirred up.

"Did it hurt?" Blazed asked after a while? "I saw tears."

"I was? No, it was…just reliving some memories." He looked over at his friend, wondering if he could guess which one he was referring to.

"We've had a few close calls, haven't we?" Blaze replied.

He just nodded again, not really finding the right words.

"Just promise me you're never going to leave me again."

"That's a promise," Leo said without hesitation. "Even if it isn't up to me," in a tone that spoke of that being only a minor obstacle.

Blaze grinned. "Do you remember anything yet?"

After spending a moment searching through his memories, "Nothing."

"Maybe it'll just take some time."

Leo left "assuming it worked" unsaid.

* * *

"You two take good care of yourselves," Uxie said as Leo followed Blaze from the shore of Steam Lake, giving an extra wink to Leo. "You both come back safe and sound and the worlds saved again. Blaze, the brave one, and Leo, the human who is Pokémon."

"That's a promise!" Blaze replied.

"Definitely!" Leo added, hoping they could keep their promise.

"I think she likes you," Blaze said after a short while, patting their sack of supplies that was a lot heavier than when they came, thanks to all the blue berries Uxie gave them.

"We have some memories in common." Including a couple of rather embarrassing ones. _So, she knows what I really think of her now. Too bad it's going to be a while before she sees me again…or maybe not._ It just might take him some time to recover from having _those_ memories gone through.

Clearing his throat, "Speaking of memories, can you remember anything yet?"

"No."

"Didn't Uxie say she found an area that was inaccessible? I really wasn't in earshot."

"You were busy taking a bath," Leo pointed out. Not that he hadn't indulged himself earlier. "She saw some memory fragments there, but nothing she recognized, at least as a Pokémon. But that means there is at least something still in my memory. Just don't know how much. She tried, as she put it, massaging that area of my memory, but doesn't know if it did any good. Wish we could have stayed longer, she wanted to try again, but…"

"She looked really tired after she finished; maybe it's a good thing we have to leave now. We do have a lot of things to take of today and tomorrow."

Leo couldn't argue that. "It wouldn't be bad to have everything packed a day early, either."

Blaze agreed.

* * *

The door loomed in front of him, the lettering hazy. With little fanfare, he went through it and proceeded down the wide isle lined with various metal boxes, tables, flashing lights and many other things he couldn't identify. At the end of the isle and past a clear barrier stood a ring, a very large and thick non-reflective silver ring. A transparent dim grey light was glowing in the center.

Instinctively, something didn't _feel_ right…

"Get up here!" a voice called from above.

In another motion, he went up the stairs to a balcony, immediately focusing on some large…desk, with many lights and glowing squares, one of which had the words "Phase Two Generation Test 001".

"…stage two. Waveforms outside parameters…"

"Alignment off by point two four degrees…growing rapidly!"

Moving toward the railing, his view went from the desk to the ring below when the dim light in the center started becoming hazy. At that moment a tremor coursed through the room and a low-pitched tone, an alarm, started sounding. He backed up from the railing…

"We're going critical!" someone screamed.

He felt people behind him running…just before everything shook again, violently. A strange bright glow was now coming from the ring below…

"Aah!" Heart pounding, Leo raised his head off his straw bed, looking wild-eyed around the abode. The sound of quiet waves drifted up from the ocean below, water still poured gently into the basin, and Blaze was still asleep in the pre-dawn light. "A dream…" He plopped his head back down with an exhausted sigh and tried getting his heart and breathing to slow. Most vivid dream yet. Maybe Uxie _had_ been able to do something…

But instead of letting sleep overcome him again, he went over what he remembered again and again, trying to commit to memory everything he could recall. What did it mean and what was all that stuff? Unfortunately, none of the faces he saw triggered any familiarity.

That was, assuming it was a memory, not just a dream his mind conjured up because going to the human world was all he had been thinking about for the last couple days. But…where would his mind come up with those images of all that strange stuff if he hadn't actually seen something like it before?

It was no good getting back to sleep; getting himself up as quietly as he could to avoid waking Blaze, he went to the basin and stuck his head in, enjoying the coolness of the fresh water and letting his gills do the breathing for a while.

Of the several dreams he'd had that involved humans, none were what he'd call particularly pleasant. If they _were_ memories, then it was looking like his former life wasn't all that great. Yes, maybe it was good he was going back as a Pokémon. He'd never be recognized!

Feeling a tap, "Good morning, Leo," Blaze greeted after he got his head out of the water. "Uh…you didn't sleep like that, did you?"

"…no. Just got up early. Had another dream." And he proceeded to describe it…as best he could considering he didn't have a clue as to what most of what he saw was.

"Well, no use worrying about it right now. Palkia is supposed to be here sometime today. We have everything packed, right?"

It didn't take them long to check the two small shoulder-strap satchels that were practically overstuffed. Early on they decided to not burden themselves down with a lot of baggage; instead, they each would carry a small pouch and pack them very efficiently. As a last touch, Blaze pinned their explorer badges on the outside of one of the bags.

"There. In case they have explorer teams in the human world."

Leo nodded his approval.

"Hey, Blaze! Leo! You down there?"

The two of them stepped up top where Bidoof greeted them.

"Oh good, you're still here! No telling when Palkia will show up, huh?"

"Right," Blaze replied. "We're all packed and ready to go, so until he shows up…"

"Well, why don't you come to town. Everyone's waiting for you. Even Wigglytuff has stopped back for a quick visit."

"Has he?" Leo said as more a comment. Since the meeting with Dialga, Wigglytuff set out immediately across the land to gather other explorer teams. The land being large, it was not an easy task and was expected to take many weeks.

"Yes. Everyone wants to see you off."

Following Bidoof the short distance to the town, there indeed there was a large gathering near the center. All the townsfolk were there, with the Guild members at the center and Wigglytuff in the middle. "Here come the brave partners!" the pink Pokémon called out in his sing-song voice, eliciting a cheer from the crowd.

"Hey!" Loudred shouted at his usual insane volume level. "Saving the world twice isn't enough. We want an encore!"

Wigglytuff quickly got everyone calmed down. "So, in preparation for your months-long _vacation_ in the human world…" He paused for the laughing to die down before continuing, "everyone gathered up some stuff we thought you might need." On cue, Kangaskhan and Loudred came through the crowd carrying a quite large sack.

Chatot took over in the voice of a sales-Poké: "In there, you'll find the _finest_ accessories from _all_ over the land. From scarves of every variety, to berries of the rarest kind, there'll be nothing you can't handle with the use of these enclosed accessories. This small fortune is now yours."

Blaze appeared overcome. "I…thank you, everyone!"

"This is…great, everyone," Leo added. "Thanks!"

"And one more thing," Wigglytuff said as he stepped up before them, handing over a small, but heavy black sack.

"What's this?" Blazed asked in accepting it. The jingle pretty much gave it away even before he opened it and his eyes went wide. Leo looked in after Blaze handled it over and felt his own eyes do the same. It looked to be at least 50,000 Poké…

"Everyone in the town wants to make sure you succeed," Wigglytuff said. "Money will do us little good if the world ends, so you might as well enjoy it. And, use it to save the world with too, of course." After a quick pause: "Besides, the two of you earned most of the guild's share anyway!"

More laughter this time, although more nervous.

During their various missions and travels, he and Blaze had managed to save up quite a sizable sum of money, and it was that same reasoning that they were bringing most it with them. But Wigglytuff's contribution pretty much made sure their coffer was literally overflowing.

"Well, what do you think, Blaze?" Leo asked, putting on his best dead-pan face. "Some fine oran berry juice served to us while we sit on the beach watching the sun set as several lopunny are massaging our feet?"

"I could go for some sitrus pie myself," Blaze answered, playing along. "You know, the kind with the expensive flaky crust."

"Ah, yes, and topped with some fluffy spice whipping. And we can't forget about having some nice jewelry made to compliment our looks, either."

"Of course!"

Several of the Pokémon were on the ground, laughing probably as hard as they ever had.

Leo hoped it wouldn't be the last time after finally cracking up too.

After making their rounds and saying their "see-you-laters" to everyone, they headed back. All-in-all, it was a fun, yet serious goodbye, and Leo was now feeling his own nervousness setting in. He really hoped Palkia wasn't going to be much longer. The waiting was the nerve-racking part.

Together, they brought the heavy sack of gifts down the steps, and he wondered just how they could pack any more into their already over-stuffed satchels. The money and a couple scarves wasn't too difficult, but the rest…

"Here," Blaze said, handing a nice mixture of various berries over. "The only place left to put them is in our stomachs."

Well, at least breakfast had been long enough ago that he could eat a few. "Good idea. We should go to the human world stuffed." Leo made a grin before stuffing his mouth, Blaze imitating him to the point of berry juice running down his face.

"You look awful," Leo noted between chews, barely getting the muffled words out amid a stifled chuckle. Something about the various hues from the juices gave him a kind of sinister, blood-thirsty appearance.

"So do you!" Blaze laughed after he managed to get all the berries stuffed in his mouth down.

The sudden flash of light nearly blinded him, though only for a instant. Leo knew what it was even before his eyes cleared.

"Blaze, Leo!" the white dragon's deep voice boomed. "It is good to see you again, but it is time to go. I can't hold the portal open very long, so time is short. Dialga, I assume, told you everything?"

"He did," Blaze replied, craning his neck to look upward at the large dragon.

Palkia opened his mouth a half moment before he actually spoke again. "You two look…_messy_."

Leo wanted to laugh, but couldn't manage it. He raced with Blaze to the pool, quickly wiping himself off before gathering the satchel he would be carrying. With a nod from Blaze, "We're ready." Already feeling homesick, he spent the last few seconds they had looking around their home. Everything was where it should be, save for the sack of gifts they barely made a dent in. He was going to miss the water basin where he splashed himself every morning, the wonderful view out over the ocean, and cool sea breezes they got…

Light briefly blinded him again, and a rocky/grassy landscape replaced the view of their home.

"Spatial Rift," Blaze said.

"This way," Palkia called from in front of them. Nearby was a white…hole, and Palkia was indicating it. "This portal will take you to the human world. A couple things before you go. I don't know where exactly to send you, so I choose a place near a large city. That should increase your odds, although the exact location where you'll come out is slightly random due to crossing so much space. Second, I may not be able to visit you, since my appearance would be disruptive."

"Dialga said the same thing," Blaze informed.

"He briefed you well, then. I'll also be monitoring things with him, but of course within the limits of my abilities which is space. Celebi will deliver any news from me."

Leo nodded, "We understand."

"Then…good luck. The fate of the two worlds could very well be resting on you two, once again."

"Nothing like a little pressure," Blaze quipped as they stepped up to the white portal together.

"You need to step through it _now_," Palkia urged.

With a mutual nod, Leo quickly stepped into the portal with Blaze.


	3. Chapter 3: Earth

**Chapter 3: Earth**

The dimensional tunnel wasn't like the time travel tunnel they used over two years before. For one, there was more light. Two, the pit in the bottom of his stomach was growing faster than he remembered. Without an up or down, it still felt like he was free-falling and he struggled on hold onto Blaze. Finally, and none too soon, there was soft ground under his feet and the white, diffused light quickly faded around them. He was standing…on sand with the sound of waves behind and around him as water gently lapped around his blue feet, moving a bit of the sand around.

"Oh…wow, Leo…"

Leo swung around to his partner, suddenly in awe at the sea that stretched as far as he could see with the setting sun hovering over it. Looking around a little more, the golden-sand beach was large, stretching from one horizon to the other. Structures also seemed numerous, though further inland from the beach. "Always on a beach," he mumbled, but not at all unhappy about it.

"Yeah, we do seem to be always coming out of time and space on them, don't we?" Blaze agreed. Taking a deep breath as a breeze blew in from the sea, "Are far worse places."

Well beyond his partner, things were moving in the distance, but not so distant he couldn't recognize them. "Humans."

Blaze turned and stared for several moments. "I…never actually seen one before, in person."

Instantly thinking better of just standing there in the open, Leo was soon tugging him inland toward the trees that lined the boundary between beach and the rest of the land, Blaze continuing to stare off at the human creatures, who perhaps had not yet noticed them. Once deep among the trees, he started breathing easier. Yes, this was the world he was from, but he still knew virtually nothing about it. Caution was in order until they got their bearings.

Carefully feeling one of the trees near them, which looked and smelled similar to the palm trees in the world they just left, the infernape finally gave it a few raps. "We are _really_ here…on the human world. Hard to believe. But uh, now what?"

Good question; even after a moment, he didn't have an answer or at least anything specific. Wait, what was it Dialga said? "I guess we're supposed to go find…myself."

"How do we do that?"

Another good question. Taking another survey around them, he had absolutely no idea on how to go about it! He was sure his expression said as much to his partner.

Blaze started scratching the back of his head before suddenly twitching his red tail. "Oh! Palkia said putting us near a city would increase our chances; maybe we should go there?"

"Uh…right." It sounded like as good an idea as any, but he felt a little hesitant about going there remembering the story Blaze had related. And what do they do once they get there? Well, first things first. "OK, let's go find the city. Do you think those buildings along the beach are the city?"

Blaze only stared back blankly before shrugging, "Maybe we should go further inland and have a look around first."

Leo lead the way through the trees and sparse undergrowth, dead palm leaves crunching underneath and making impossible any attempt to stay unheard. It was with some relief when they soon broke out into a clearing that was actually a wide, cleared path through the trees. A road? But just a little further along it… "A sign!" He raced his partner to it, hopeful they had a stroke of luck.

Only Blaze cocked his head immediately, his mane puffing slightly. "Huh? I can't read this."

The blocky characters certainly were nothing like the foot-print language most Pokémon used, yet… "It says 'Jade River City, four miles'." Finding his partner staring at him: "What?"

"Is that _human_ language you just read?"

Looking back to the sign, he saw the obvious implications… Was he remembering how to read it…or was that particular knowledge never forgotten in the first place? "Maybe Dialga was right, I do have an advantage here if I can read."

Grinning, Blaze gave him a slap on the back. "Maybe things will turn out OK after all! Ha ha!"

Indeed, he felt better now knowing he could read the human's language. Now smiling himself with a feeling of suddenly increased chances of success, "Well, shall we head to Jade River City, then?"

To their disappointment, they weren't alone as they continued down the path. At first, they hid until the human or humans passed, occasionally with Pokémon by their side. Eventually he reasoned if they had to go where there were a lot of people, staying unseen was simply impractical. At some point they were going to interface with humans. As such, when they spotted the next human walking toward them, he convinced Blaze to stay on the path with him.

His partner was visibly nervous as they approached the human, but the human passed by them without incident…although he did stare at them.

"Whew," Blaze exclaimed afterward. "Didn't know what it was going to do, it just kept staring at us."

"It was a _he_," Leo corrected. "But there are other Pokémon here, I don't know why we are warranting special attention." Other encounters along the way ranged from complete indifference to the humans stopping with mouths open, mumbling something among themselves.

"That one said she wished she had a something called a 'spare poké ball' with her," Blaze whispered after they passed. "What did she mean by that?"

He could only shrug, but the continued attention was making him nervous too.

Crickets were chirping in force in the late evening as they arrived at the top of a small rise; the sky ahead of them had been lighter then what was normal for evening for some time. Now the reason lay before them in a large valley. Below, unfamiliar buildings of every shape and size were giving off light in a fantastic collective glow, the layout of which stretched off into the hazy distance. Roads seemed to go everywhere with…light-giving _things_ moving on them alongside people.

"This…is…a human _city?_" Blaze asked, mouth dropping open as the light reflected off his blue eyes. "It's _huge!_" Then after sniffing: "Smells huge, too."

It _was_ huge, and… Leo felt something stir, like he'd seen this or something like it before. Then the feeling was gone before he could grab it, yet leaving him certain the sight triggered something deep in his mind.

"What is it?"

"Thought this looked familiar for just an instant." He tried focusing on the lights, hoping the feeling would come back.

"_Aw!_ Unbelievable! An infernape and a swampert, _together!_ Those people weren't lying saying they saw you on the road!"

With a start, he swung around with his partner to face the surprised-sounding voice, finding the owner as a sandy-haired human male dressed in mostly blues, standing not far away on the path behind them.

"What this human want?" Blaze asked, instantly crouched down defensively.

Before he could answer, the human pulled out what appeared several small red and white balls from his belt.

"I can't believe my luck!" the human continued, bringing the balls in front of him, two in each hand. "Alright, let's battle! You guys are mine! Considering you're fully evolved, four on two is fair!"

Leo wasn't sure what happened next, but in a mere instant there was an elekid, electabuzz, pikachu and a wartortle dead in front of them! He didn't need to tell Blaze to run before they were off heading for the edge of the road and the trees beyond. Not that they often ran from fights, but facing three electric type Pokémon and one water, they were exactly the types that could do them the most injury! Not to mention they looked strong and outnumbered them two to one!

The human shouted behind them: "Everyone, thunderbolt, now!"

He tried diving behind a tree when what felt like the most powerful electrical charge in history coursed through him in an instant, leveling him at the edge of the grassy road. It hurt…a lot!

Somewhere to the side Blaze was screaming, the sound of flames being released coming right after. His partner screamed again before something hit the tree he almost made it behind. Fighting his pain, Leo got his head turned around, finding Blaze at the base, struggling to get the wartortle off him.

The wet infernape quickly succeeded, punching the hard shell of his opponent and sending him flying, but with a potent-looking electric discharge, the electabuzz saw to it Blaze wouldn't be doing anything else for a while.

The human came running. "You two look _awesome!_ You'll be great additions to my team once I get you trained!" Whipping out yet two more of the strange red and white balls, it threw one straight at him.

Leo was feeling angry. How dare this human and his friends attack them? What had they done to him? Worse, was Blaze right about this world, that it was full of constant battles and evil humans? To think he came from such a world…he was ashamed, angry…livid! Gathering all his anger-fueled strength, he slapped the object away before leaping up and letting a water pulse fly into the electabuzz who was standing over a dazed Blaze. The electabuzz fell backward…but the real target was in front of him. With a primal scream, he leapt straight for the human…

Electricity. He hated it. Especially with another charge going through him. His leap fell short and laying flat on his stomach once again, watched helplessly the continuing charge leaving both the elekid and the pikachu. After scarcely a moment, he really wasn't feeling it anymore, his body numb and paralyzed…and consciousness slipping fast.

"That's enough!" the human shouted to the two Pokémon as he picked up the ball a short distance away. "You have a lot of spirit, swampert. I like you already."

"I…don't…like…you." Through hazy vision, he saw the human suddenly standing stock still, before complete darkness enveloped him.

* * *

Coolness. Moisture. Wet…water.

Leo opened his eyes.

White. Nothing but white…

Moving his head some, he found he was actually partially in a large water-filled tub. His legs, arms and most his body were in the water, but his upper back and shoulders were above it, with his head completely outside the tub hanging over the edge, face down. Essentially, he was lying on his stomach on a slight incline. The basin itself was on top of a large white table and… four walls were around him. He was in a room! Other water Pokémon were scattered around, some in clear pools, others in their own basins.

Testing his strength, he found himself able to move and not restrained at all, but…where was he? He started getting up.

"Oh, you're awake."

He jerked his head around, finding a human female he hadn't noticed was behind him!

"You've been out for while; I was just about to continue your treatment to help your recovery, but…well, I should still do it anyway. Just relax…"

Before he could say anything, the human was quick enough with putting her hands on his upper back and starting to massage, that by the time he figured out he should protest, he no longer felt like it. Within moments, he was back down in the water, enjoying the sensations of a good massage, not just on his upper back, but around his neck, shoulders and thick arms, too.

"Your trainer told me you took some pretty good jolts. You needed fair amount of treatment actually, and I gave him a good scolding. Next time, I think he'll take better care of you. But by the time I'm done, you'll be feeling _better_ than new."

Trainer? What was she talking about? And just where was he? It was time to get some answers… Turning his head just enough so he could see the human, "Where am… I!" He let out a sharp yip as the woman jerked her hands on his back violently before backing away several steps. "Hey!" Planting a three-fingered hand on the table, he twisted himself around to face her. "What?"

The woman coughed before grabbing her chest and staring back, eyes wide in the middle of her long brown-haired framed face. Pointing at him, "You…you…you can…_talk!_"

"So can you," he pointed out, perplexed at the obvious being stated in such a manner. Then out of the corner of his eye, he started noticing some of the other Pokémon staring at him in much the same manner. A squirtle in particular had it's mouth open…

"Wow," it said. "How can you do that?"

Facing it halfway across the sizable room: "What do you mean?"

"Speak human language! Pokémon can't do that! How do _you_ do it?"

At once he felt surprise and yet…there felt a certain sense about it…somehow. "I just can." More knowledge that he still retained as a result of once being human?

"A Pokémon that can speak…" the nurse continued. "This is unbelievable! You can't believe how long I've wanted to actually talk to one!"

He ignored her questions while getting himself out of the basin and hopping to the floor, producing a good size puddle on the hard white surface. There was only one other thing on his mind at the moment: "Where's Blaze?"

The nurse stopped her rattling. "Your trainer?"

"My friend! He's an infernape!"

"Ah…oh! Uh…your trainer brought him in with you last night. He wasn't as bad off as you; one of the other nurses treated and released him. He's with your trainer now."

Trainer again…what _was_ that? "Then tell me where that human who brought us here is then."

"Well, he's waiting out in the lobby…"

All he needed was for her to point in the direction and he was off. Through the door and into a…hall…? A sign overhead read "Lobby" with another arrow, then through another door and into a large room with a lot of windows. He quickly scanned the strange room and sitting on a row of padded benches along one wall, was his quarry…

The sandy-haired human immediately noticed him; Leo certainly remembered what their attacker looked like. In an instant he was running, leaping, and had the human pinned down against the seat, legs straddling him and thick hands around his neck. "WHERE IS BLAZE?" The only other two humans in the room jumped up and ran as the wide-eyed young man in his grip stopped struggling.

"You really _can_ talk! How…"

Leo tightened his grip around the youngish human's neck. "Where is _Blaze_?" He was in no mood for answering questions; this human attacked them without any provocation and had his friend somewhere. He was beyond merely angry.

"Aaaarg!"

The human reached for something…one of the red and white balls again, and almost as quickly was the electabuzz again, now behind him! _Where the heck_ did it come from? Leaning closer to the human's face, "He shocks me and you'll get it too!"

"Stop!" The one human woman came flying through the doors yelling, skidding to stop near them. "No fighting in here! Please!"

"Tell me where you have Blaze!" Leo demanded again, tightening his grip just a little more. If this human didn't release his friend… Would he really hurt him or worse? In his growing rage, he wasn't so sure he wouldn't.

"Who's…arg…_Blaze_?" The man was clearly struggling for breath as much as he was finally sounding frightened.

"Swampert! Let go of Chris!"

He barely faced the electabuzz: "When he tells me where my friend is!"

"Blaze is that infernape you brought in last night with this one!" the nurse told the man. "You better do as he says!"

"Al…arg…right…a…all…arg…right!" the human surrendered, slowly unclipping another of the red and white balls from his belt. "He…re!"

Leo watched the ball intently, wondering how his friend could possibly be inside something so small…

A red beam shot from the ball and Blaze was standing where it had hit the floor!

At this point he didn't care much for how his friend had appeared here, only that… "Blaze! Are you alright?"

His partner began staring around the room, then down at himself. "Uh…I'm fine?" looking totally bewildered. "How…where was I and how did I get here?"

"Hey, come on, I…I released him. Will you please let go of me!"

Turning back on the human, he held his grip a moment more before releasing him with a glowering stare and stepping down off the seat to let him up. To Blaze: "We should leave."

His partner nodded without question and together they walked quickly out the door that clearly led outside as it opened in front of them on it's own. "What happened?" asking as soon they were outside.

Letting out a huge sigh of relief that Blaze was back with him, "I'm not sure. I think you were inside of one of those red and white balls. I rushed to free you as soon as I woke up."

Blaze gave him one of his "your-pulling-my-mane" looks. "I'm way too big to fit inside of one of those!"

Leo shrugged, "I can't explain it. But a red beam came from it, and you appeared at the end of it." Although he would have liked to continue pondering it, they reached the end of the path that lead from the building and were now standing at the edge of another, much wider and…hard black-surfaced path. A weird looking box with wheels went by, a human clearly visible in it. In their rush to get out, he hadn't thought of where to go! And now finally looking around them, they were clearly inside of the city they had seen from the hill the night before. "I have no idea where we should go," he admitted.

"Wait!"

Turing, he immediately prepared to run with Blaze as the human who had captured them came running toward them, the electabuzz following.

The man raised his hands, "No, please, wait! I just want to talk!"

Glancing at Blaze, Leo confirmed he was alright with letting the human approach. "What do want?" asking tersely. From the corner of his eye, Blaze was staring at him now instead of the human.

"What did you say?" his partner whispered. "Was that human speak?"

Leo nodded as the man and electabuzz stopped a respectful distance from them.

"Look, I'm…sorry for what happened. I didn't mean to make you angry or anything. I just thought I would capture you like other Pokémon. Clearly you are different. I mean, you can talk! I thought I was imagining it before, but…"

"You do this to other Pokémon?" Leo returned, hoping that wasn't what the man meant.

"Well, uh…yeah; so does everyone else. It's normal."

"Leo, remember what I said I heard about this world?" Blaze asked. "I was starting to believe it wasn't true, but now, maybe it was!"

Once again he felt ashamed of ever being human. "Why did you want to capture us?" making his disapproval clear in his tone.

"Hey!" the electabuzz shouted. "When a trainer defeats you in battle and captures you, it's your duty to help and bond with them! That's the code!"

"What?" Blaze shouted back incredulously.

"In exchange, you get food, medical care, and friendship. You also get to battle and make yourself stronger better than you could ever do yourself, and that's what's important! It's a good deal!" The Pokémon folded it arms, clearly convinced in what it was saying.

The human waited until they were done before answering, "Simply put, I captured you because I need your help."

"_You_ need _our_ help?" Blaze returned. "After attacking us?"

The man stared back blankly.

Oh, right, Leo realized. "I don't think humans can't understand Pokémon speech, Blaze."

His partner's eyes went just a little wide. "But you can speak theirs, and not just read it?"

Leo nodded.

Cocking his head, "I guess that makes sense, I mean, if you can read it."

"How does _that_ make sense?" the electabuzz asked.

Blaze appeared about to say something, but glanced at the electabuzz and seemed to think better of it.

Folding his own arms, Leo answered the human: "Blaze and I are wondering what kind of help you could possibly need from us and why we would want to."

"Well put," Blaze commented.

The man smiled nervously while rubbing his neck. "Well...I'm in need of stronger Pokémon, no offense buddy," he said with pat on the electabuzz. "My last few matches haven't gone well. The opponents I have to face are very strong and well, we're just overmatched. I don't have years to spend raising more Pokémon, so my only hope is to capture some strong Pokémon. When I heard last night about a infernape and a swampert just ahead of me on the road, apparently without a trainer, well, I thought it was my lucky day. I mean, either a swampert _or_ a infernape are rare enough, but in the wild and traveling together, such fully evolved Pokémon are…" He bowed his head. "I should have guessed there was something strange about it. You can talk, so you aren't average Pokémon; you're obviously special somehow."

That was something he wasn't expecting. As Pokémon, he never really thought they would do anything but blend in, or at least as much as any other Pokémon. Apparently that wasn't to be the case?

"Still, I would be truly grateful if you would help me win some matches. In return, if there's anything you want or that I could do in exchange…"

At first he felt like dismissing the human out of hand, but Blaze said it even as the thought occurred to him: "Maybe he could help us find…er…you know," censoring himself with another glance to the electabuzz.

Having someone help them who knew the human world could be invaluable, and he finally nodded agreement to his partner. To the human: "Maybe you _can_ help us with something, then. If you do, we'll consider helping you in some of these 'matches', which I assume are battles?" After all, in the Poké world they were considered rather strong. Not that he particularly relished battling, but if it was a necessity… Surely battles here couldn't be that bad, the 'sneak' attack this human made on them last night notwithstanding. Even if not, they still really needed a guide, so to speak. The fate of the worlds could very well depend on it!

"Yes, matches are battles governed by rules!" the man answered, obviously not expecting his offer to have been accepted. "It's a gym match in particular, with the reward being to move into the Tournaments!"

It sounded important, but… "I have no idea what that is, but if you can help us, we can probably help you."

The human almost acted giddy. 'Thank you, Swampert and Infernape! By the way, my name's Chris."

"I'm _Leo_," Leo replied. "And I think you already know my friend's name is Blaze." In fact, he was certain the human would never forget it.

* * *

Leo didn't realize how hungry he'd become until Chris returned to their bench with a plateful of…

"They're called hot dogs," he explained, after holding the plate in front of them for a moment.

The aroma was hitting his nostrils with an irresistible beckoning. Grabbing one, he waited for Blaze to do the same.

His partner sniffed at his before dipping his finger into the red and yellow paste that covered the top. "Smells…interesting."

Sitting on top of the bench and mindful of his large back fin that made sitting like a human impossible, Leo mimicked Chris in sticking one end in his mouth. Several flavors that he couldn't quite indentify flooded his mouth, none particularly disagreeable. In fact, it wasn't bad at all. "Good," he said between chews, which Blaze apparently took as a sign they were edible and soon had his own mouth stuffed.

"Oh!" Chris exclaimed before quickly unstrapping the sack he had on his back. Opening it, he brought out two satchels… "I almost forgot, you had these with you. I dunno what most that stuff is in them or what those badges are pinned to them, but I guess they're yours, so…"

Blaze jerked both of them out of Chris's hands, handing one to Leo. With stuff hanging out of them, they had clearly been gone through.

"I was looking for an owner's name and when I didn't find one, I put everything back. Those golden metal coins you have look interesting; what are they?"

"Money!" Leo answered, miffed at their belongs having been rifled through. He also gave a passing thought to counting it, to make sure it was all still there.

Chris crossed his legs, taking another bite of his hot dog, and continued while chewing: "I never seen money like that. There's no country identification on it. Where's it from?"

Should he answer him or not, Leo pondered while stuffing his mouth with two more hot dogs from the plate in an effort to control his suddenly raging hunger. He certainly wasn't about to trust this human with the reason they were there, which meant he couldn't tell him where the money came from either. But if Chris didn't realize it was money, it sounded like there was a bigger worry: "Can we use that money here?"

The human looked somewhat surprised. "I don't think it's going to be legal. This is money here." Taking a coin out of one of his pockets, he handed it over.

Blaze intercepted it, having a free hand. Giving it a good looking over, "It looks nothing like our money."

"Great," Leo sighed, also looking it over while it was in Blaze's hand. The impression of a human's head was on one side, and some poor Pokémon bird in an uncomfortable pose on the other. "Now we have no money."

"Well, if you need money, we'll get some if we win the gym battle," Chris said. "I'll share some of it with you. Though, I've never heard of a Pokémon needing money before."

"We're special, remember?" Leo replied. He was loath to point that out, but perhaps the human's words might prove useful from time to time. On the other hand, although they needed money where they came from, could it be they really didn't need it here? He found it hard to believe though. How would they be able to buy supplies…

…wait, if Pokémon couldn't talk to humans here, how could Pokémon buy anything at all? Were there special Pokémon suppliers somewhere?

"Yes, you do seem to be spec…." Chris paused as a couple humans passed by, staring at them as one was whispering to the other: "That Pokémon was _talking,_ I tell you!"

"Oh come on," the one whispered back before they moved out or hearing range.

The three of them waited until the couple were long gone, and Chris looked to apparently make sure no one else was within earshot before continuing. "Special and…different," he finally finished with a considering stare..

"I don't like they way he's looking at us," Blaze said. "He suspects something."

Leo wanted to say something, but Chris would understand him if he wasn't careful about reverting into Poké language. "Well, I can talk, when Pokémon aren't supposed to. Of course I'm different." If only he knew the full extent of it!

The area around them was filled with grass, trees, benches, venders selling food, and paths of what Chris explained was a hard rock-like substance called "concrete". The name of the entire thing was a "park". It was also rather large with many open spaces. Leo nudged Blaze as in one of the spaces, two humans approached each other, released some Pokémon from the red and white balls they were carrying, and proceeded to have their Pokémon fight.

"Is that a match?" Blaze asked. Leo translated for him.

"Yep, it looks like a rookie battle. I'm sure they're just practicing."

"Does that happen a lot?" Leo asked.

"In the park? There's usually people here everyday having a battle or two…"

"I mean everywhere."

Chris appeared surprised by the question. "Well…there's matches going on all the time, worldwide. Some formal, most not. Probably too numerous to count." He paused, glancing between the battle and them, then: "You didn't know that? I thought just about every Pokémon knew about trainer battles. That is after all how you get strong. You are a swampert and a infernape. How could you have evolved that far if you haven't battled?"

"We've fought," Leo replied, "a lot, but not in matches." And that was as much as he was willing to say about it.

"In the _wild?_" Chris asked wide-eyed.

Leo didn't answer and the human looked dismayed after a moment.

Sighing, "Alright, what is it you need my help with, then? The gym match I need to be at is in a few days, so I hope I can do whatever it is quickly."

"We're looking for a human."

"Please be careful, Leo," Blaze urged. "We don't know how much we can trust him. After what he tried to do to us, I don't trust him much at all."

"Uh, can you elaborate a little?" Chris asked after apparently waiting for him to say more. "Like, what's this human's name, for instance."

"His name is…" This was going to be awkward! "…Leo."

"Isn't that _your_ name?"

"This human's name is also Leo."

Chris visibly became more uptight. "Um, OK. Is he…ah, your trainer, by any chance?"

"I don't know what that is, but I doubt it."

"Ah! OK, OK, that's good." The human seemed to relax. "So what's his last name?"

He briefly brushed the gills on one side of his face. _Last name?_

"You have _two_ names?" Blaze asked, cocking his head. "You must have been important!"

"I don't remember it!" Leo replied in some shock. He never knew he had one…all he could remember was that he was Leo!

"Well, OK," Chris said, apparently understanding him even though he had meant the comment for Blaze. "Where does he live?"

Facing the human again, "I don't know."

The eyebrows on Chris's face rose. "A phone number then?"

Leo shook his head.

The human was looking slightly more perplexed. "Alright, what does he look like?"

It was really starting to sink in just little he knew about his life before becoming a Pokémon. He had never really thought how much there was to know, and he knew none of it!

"Let me guess, you don't know," Chris said in an annoyed tone.

"Isn't Grovyle supposed to be with you?" Blaze asked.

"Oh, I have…there's a grovyle probably with this human." Leo grimaced inwardly at nearly slipping.

Chris sighed. "Well…that's _something_, I guess, but you sure aren't going to make this little task easy, are you?" After a moment, he was heaving himself off the bench, "Well, let's go."

"Go where?"

"My apartment; I live in this city. We can try the phone directory to see just how many Leos there are out there."

* * *

Chris's abode was unusual, at least by what Leo was used to. He supposed his home as a human was probably something like it, but it was hard to imagine. Not only was it up high in a many-floored building, but there were so many other homes in the same building. Well, maybe it wasn't unlike the room he and Blaze had at the guild, but this was a lot bigger.

After getting inside, the home contained many things he couldn't identify, things like a "television", "DVD Player", "refrigerator" and "microwave oven", as Chris pointed them out on asking. At least the room names were familiar, like the kitchen. In fact, there was one room he was very glad was there. As soon as a red-faced Chris gave a quick demo of the bathroom and it's amenities, Leo made use of it. It was rather awkward given his different anatomy, but he made it work. And Blaze was right after him. At least his partner would have an easier time of it, he mused.

"Alright, let's check the directory," Chris said in seating himself in front of something that looked like a small version of the television, except with a thin rectangular pad with characters in front of it. Leo found he recognized the symbols on each of the small squares. "Letters."

"It's a keyboard," Chris replied as he begun rapidly hitting the buttons, the dark flat "television" suddenly becoming light as a result.

He watched with Blaze as various things displayed on the screen. "National Telecommunications Phone Directory?" Chris nodded a confirmation and although a lot of the words he struggled to understand their meaning, it appeared the human was initiating a search.

"What's he doing?" Blaze asked, looking over the human's other shoulder.

"Searching for everyone with a first name of 'Leo', I think."

"Exactly," Chris replied just as the results came up. "Ugh."

Leo scanned through the list, paying as much attention to the faces shown beside the names as the names themselves, but not recognizing any of them. Only a few of the names had faces next to them, however.

"There's…sixty-two people with a first name of Leo. In _this_ region. In this country…" More hitting of buttons, another search…many more results, most of which couldn't be shown at once. "_Nine hundred twenty-seven_ in the country. And I can't do a search world-wide from here, but surely there are many thousands around the world."

Exchanging looks with Blaze, his hopes started sinking.

"'Leo' isn't the most common name, but there are apparently a lot of them." Chris sighed, then facing Leo: "Are you sure you don't know a last name…or even what region or country this person lives in?"

He frowned, wishing there _was_ something he could remember. "What about him having a grovyle?"

It was Chris's turn to frown. In a slightly sarcastic voice, "Oh sure, we could just call each of these people up and ask them if they just _happen_ to have a grovyle." He paused, clearly not getting the reaction he was expecting. Swiveling around in the chair, "Look you two, even _if_ the person was willing to answer that question from a complete stranger from out-of-the-blue, how long do you think it'll take to talk to each and every one of them? And that's assuming we could get _a hold_ of each of them."

"I had no idea there were so many Leos in the human world," Blaze said. "I really didn't know it was going to be this difficult to find your human self."

Leo nodded agreement while staring at the display. One of the phrases at the top of the screen was "Phone Directory Database". Hmm. Database…he thought he understood what that meant. So… "Is there another information place you could try? One that has what humans are with each Pokémon?"

Chris's face displayed what seemed amusement. "The only thing like that is what's complied during the tournaments, and it only contains those who are in…" But the young man's green eyes looked down for a moment. "Actually…a grovyle is evolved from a treecko. If the treecko has battled enough to become a grovyle, that would usually mean he's with a trainer, since a trainer would do lots of battles. If so…" Swinging back around, he tapped just a few keys before the screen showed he was trying to contact someone, and it wasn't long before an older man appeared on it.

"Professor Korton."

"Hi Professor. It's me, Chris Urbason. How you doing?"

"Oh, Chris, I remember you! I'm fine. How's it going with you?"

"Pretty good."

"Wow! Is that an infernape and a swampert you have there? That's something! You've been busy, then!"

"Uh, yeah. I kinda have been. Hey, I was wondering if I could ask you for a favor?"

"What is it?"

"I'm looking for a trainer with a first name of 'Leo'. The only other thing I know about him is that he has a grovyle with him. Since you have records of trainers, and…uh…maybe could contact other professors, I was wondering if you could locate him for me. Please?"

The man on the screen merely raised his eyebrows. "Er…well, I'm not often asked to locate people. Can I ask why you want to find this 'Leo'?"

"I…uh…" Chris turned partway to Leo. "…heard about this trainer…from someone else. He sounded like someone I want to have a match with or at least talk with. He sounded like a really interesting trainer."

"I see. Well…I'll see what I can do. No promises, though. With only a first name and that he has a grovyle, that's not much to go on, but most the trainer records I have access to should have that information, but if I have to check with all the other professors, it could take a while."

"Thanks, Professor! I really appreciate it."

"Sure. I'll call back or leave you a message to let you know if I find anything or not."

"Thanks a lot! Bye." Chris immediately swiveled around again. "Now just have to wait."

Blaze nodded with a smile, hope beaming from him once again. Leo could feel his own spirits rising too.

"But what's a trainer?" Blaze asked. "It sounds like someone who…_owns_ Pokémon?"

Clearly his partner didn't like the concept any more than he did. He relayed Blaze's question, which was the same question he that had been on his own mind for a while.

"You really don't know?" Chris asked, looking each of them in the eye. "A trainer is a person who, well, trains Pokémon for matches. Some do it professionally; others, like me, can only afford to do it part-time. But we all basically strive to make our Pokémon the best they can be. The ultimate goal is to achieve Master status, and that happens when you and your Pokémon place in the top three in a League tournament."

"What's a League tournament?"

The human's eyes became a little wider. Sighing, "Oh boy. I mean, seriously, you guys don't know any of this? Not to be insulting, but where the heck have you guys been? Another planet?"

Blaze's mane puffed, barely stifling a cough.

Leo suspected the human wasn't being serious, but not before almost gasping himself.

After another moment of silence: "Alright, how about if I get us something to drink and some snacks before I launch into the detailed explanations?"

Blaze's face said it all; Leo didn't need to translate it for the human. After only a few hot dogs that were their first meals since arriving in this human world, they were still hungry.

* * *

"This is all done for fun?" Blaze asked, picking the last few chips from the bag.

After Leo translated, "I'm sure each trainer has their own reasons," Chris answered. "Keep in mind, some Pokémon don't like it and do leave their trainers. One of the rules is if the Pokémon doesn't want to battle, the trainer can't make it. But most Pokémon do; they want to better themselves as much as the trainer, and really one of the few ways to do that is by battling. You know Leo, since you can talk, I'm sure there's going to be a whole lot of researchers who'll give anything to have a talk with you to gain insights into Pokémon psychology, like how they really feel about battling. There's so many thing us humans don't quite understand…."

"No," Leo flatly refused. That was the last thing they needed – distractions. Besides that, if this human wanted to capture them so badly, how many others would there be once a whole world knew about them? No, it'd probably be best to meet as few humans as possible.

"You tell him," Blaze agreed, proceeding with trying to lick some crumbs from the bag. "The fewer humans bothering us, the better."

"Good. I really don't want to share you anyway." Chris smiled, and Leo guessed he meant it as a joke. "You know, talking besides, you seem kinda…different, for a Pokémon."

After carefully wrapping his lips around a can labeled "root beer" like Chris had, and taking the first sip and deciding he liked the sweetness, "How?"

"I mean you…well, I dunno. Act different, kinda. I only met you last night, but you strike me as…sorta…I don't know, having some human traits, I guess I would describe it. Not to mention a little more mature acting than most Pokémon."

Leo noticed Blaze giving him long stare.

"Well, if you can talk, I guess maybe it's just a consequence. But, how can you talk? How did you learn that? Did someone teach you? Is that even possible?"

Leo had no answer, or at least, not one he was willing to give. "Very long story that I don't wish to tell." Maybe not the best explanation, but nothing else came to mind right away. If he grew to trust this human enough, maybe he would give the full story. Perhaps, he could even help them save the world. That point seemed a little distant yet, though.

"Um, well, OK. Fair enough." Chris raised his eyebrows in looking away, the answer seemingly not sitting well with him.

Moving from the small table in front of the long seat Blaze and Chris were on, Leo made his way to what Chris called a patio door. Pushing his head through the cloth covering, he gazed out the large window, finding the city awash in light in the otherwise dim evening. In a way, it was pretty from the vantage of being up several floors. He truly wished he could remember something about this world, to know just how good or bad it was out there.

"There is…_one_ other thing that is different about you," Chris continued carefully. "Last night, I tried to get you into a Pokéball…"

Leo swung around. "A what?"

"One of these." He grabbed one of the small red and white balls that was sitting on a small table by the long seat. "Let me guess, you don't know about these either."

"That's what I was in?" Blaze asked, reaching for it.

Chris let him have it. "Pokémon are able to go inside these, primarily for resting and transportation. Don't ask me how they work, 'cause I don't know exactly, but it's like going to sleep for while, I think. But I tried it on you, Leo, two in fact, and neither of them worked. I know the balls work, but for some reason, they just didn't work on _you_. First time I've ever heard of a Pokémon that couldn't be put in one. I had to have Electabuzz carry you into the Poke Center last night. It wore him out."

Leo wanted to be angry after being reminded of what happened last night, but now he was curious.

"Well, I made a report about it. Who knows, maybe they're defective in some way, but now thinking about what else that's different about you…"

Blaze threw the ball into the air, catching it with his other hand. "I wonder how it works."

"Ah, don't touch that button on the side," Chris warned with outstretched hand, "unless you want to go back inside it. I'm assuming you don't, apparently being truly wild and all."

His partner shook his head, quickly handing it back.

"You two can sleep on the couch here, or the floor. I'll pull out some blankets for you." Then after pausing, "Boy, this is strange. I'm used to my Pokémon being safely in their Pokéballs for the night. Here I'm giving you the full guest treatment." Then human smiled, shaking his head. "Anyway, if you get hungry, there's more food in the fridge. Please don't make a mess. Oh, and we'll need to start early tomorrow on training; hopefully there'll be someone around who'll want a practice match with us. Most people don't have the level of Pokémon that can easily face…"

"Training?" Leo asked, Blaze already at attention.

"That was the deal, wasn't it? I help you, and you battle for me. I'm doing everything I can right now to find this Leo person for you, but until Professor Korton calls back, I can't do anything else at the moment. So, we might as well spend our time training and getting used to each other."

It was logic Leo found himself at a loss to fight. It was, like he said, the deal they made. Well, to be specific, he said they "would consider" helping him. But considering that Chris was upholding his end, it seemed rather dishonest for them to not start helping the human at this point.

"I think we should," Blaze said pretty much at the same time Leo concluded it.

"Alright," he said simply.

After Chris retired, Leo figured out how the patio door operated, and he and Blaze walked out onto the large ledge that was fenced in by a railing. Outside, it was still warm from the day and the slight breeze felt good, though lightening flashed in the distance past the surrounding hills of the valley. Down below, people were walking here and there and occasional boxes with wheels made their straight-line ways on the hard black roads, sometimes making nearly perfect turns onto crossing roads.

They spent some time looking down before Blaze finally spoke, "I'm not sure doing battles like this is right. When we battled other Pokémon on our world, it was for good reason. Here, it's done as part of a huge contest for entertainment?"

Leo reflected on what his friend said for a moment. "Maybe it's the only way any Pokémon get to fight and get stronger here. Maybe there aren't such things as missions here. No treasures to search for and nobody needs rescuing. Maybe there aren't even criminals to be caught."

"Still doesn't seem right."

"Although the Pokémon sound like they're free to fight or not."

"Electabuzz said if a human captured you, you were obliged to fight for that human."

"He called it a code, didn't he?" Leo asked.

"I think so."

"We should ask him more about it. A Pokémon might give us a more truthful answer, if there is one."

Blaze nodded.

Still, he felt what Blaze was getting at. But was it because he found it distasteful, or simply that it was different? Indeed, this world was already proving far different from what he expected. In fact, it appeared a little too much of what Blaze had said about the world seemed in fact to be true. Finally: "I'm sorry, Blaze," bowing his head down and suddenly feeling all the shame he had felt before but had bottled up.

"Huh?" The infernape stood a little higher, squarely facing him. "For what?"

"You might be right about this world, and I tried to make you think it couldn't be true."

Blaze's mane puffed a little. Whipping his tail around, "Leo, truth is neither of us knew anything about this world. All I heard were a few old stories. No way to know if they were true or not. I was scared and you helped me feel better. And you know what, once I got here…um, and out of that tiny ball, this world is already proving better then what some of the stories told."

"Really?" Leo mumbled, resting his chin on the railing and knowing what his friend was trying to do.

"Really. We've only been here a day, yet already we have a place to stay and a human helping us. And Chris doesn't seem that bad after all; we are respecting each other now."

He sighed, letting his arms dangle down over the railing. "You're probably right. Maybe we aren't doing too badly here, and Chris does seem to be decent enough, but…I'm starting to become afraid of meeting my human self too. Since this one didn't have to save the world, how _did_ I turn out?" Maybe that was the crux of what was bothering him. Just what kind of human was he…what kind of human did his counterpart continue being? Not all the human behaviors they've seen already had been good. And if he was displaying human behaviors like Chris was saying, then…those same traits were part of him. Maybe, being a Pokémon was really in body only. His heart, his soul, was still human…? Maybe…he was one of those trainers, making Pokémon fight…

"If most humans are like Chris, this can't be such a bad world. And I'm confident your human self is the best one of the lot!"

Leo felt his partner's hair-covered tail around his neck…tickling around his gills…

"Leo, you helped save the world twice and even more impressively, gained my complete trust in very little time. You have been the best partner and friend ever. I can't image what my life would be like without you. If _those_ things don't speak as to what qualities you and your human self have, I don't know what does!"

Raising his chin off the railing, Leo noted Blaze's wide (and wicked looking) grin as he continued tickling his gills. He finally took a swipe at the errant tail. "Oh, come on!"

"Ha ha! Not quick enough! The infernape is quicker then the swampert!"

The tail returned, this time to around his head fins and he took another badly missing swipe, nearly hitting his own fin.

"Or at least _this_ swampert!"

"Alright, that's enough," Leo said, not too seriously. Maybe they did need just a bit of fun here…

"Not until Leo smiles!"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!" Blaze started furthering the teasing by tapping his tail from one fin to the other…

Leo knew his friend knew that kind of thing on his head fins drove him nuts too, being as sensitive as they were. He feigned a grab for the infernape's tail before leaping straight into him, knocking Blaze onto the floor of the small patio. After a quick tussle, he had Blaze firmly pinned on his stomach as he sat on top of his white-haired back.

"But in a wrestling match, a swampert wins," Blaze admitted with a sigh before twisting his head around. "Ha! Got you to smile!"

Leo couldn't keep himself from laughing. He absolutely swore after evolving into an infernape, his partner developed a mischievous streak in him. Of course, that didn't mean he couldn't be mischievous too…

Blaze made a move to get up, but Leo kept himself firmly on him. "Ah, OK, I'm ready to get up now."

Leo didn't move and made his face go deadpan, though he was dying to at least grin.

"Ah…Leo, you're heavy."

"Oh I don't know. You're less trouble pinned like this."

"I'm trouble, huh?" Puffing his checks, he took on the appearance of someone hurt, in a mocking-sort of way.

"Blaze, if there's anyone who can create more trouble than you, I'd be very afraid of meeting him. I'm sure Loudred would agree."

"Oh-come-on, putting Fire peppers and Blast seeds into the apple bread I thought gave it some needed kick."

Although he tried to mean it as a semi-serious example, Leo finally started cracking up in remembering the image of Loudred after trying some of Blaze's "special" apple bread at one of the Guild's nightly dinners. Just conjuring the memory up made his ears ring. "I'd hate to think…what would have happened…to us…if we hadn't already…been graduated!" he struggled to get out between laughing fits, and wasn't able to resist when Blaze finally started squirming his way out from under him.

"We'd probably would've been on sentry duty for the rest of our lives! Or _worse!_"

"I can't think of _anything_ worse!" Truly, he had hated sentry duty with a passion.

"Yeah, you weren't that good at it, were you?"

"Nope!" earning another round of laughing fits.

It took them several minutes to calm down, eventually both of them ending back at the railing.

"Lightening is getting closer," Blaze noted as several flashes seemed almost on top of the valley's hills.

Taking a deep breath, he let it out slowly, feeling exhausted now after all their laughing. As it was, something Chris said was still stuck in his mind, though. "I do wonder how Pokéballs work…or wonder how I'm different that it didn't work on me." What was it that Dialga said about him…

"Dimensional?" Blaze said musingly.

He paid the infernape a quizzical glance.

"Dialga mentioned something about dimensions, that two worlds could occupy the same space, just that they're in different dimensions. For me to fit inside one of those really tiny balls, it just…_seems_ like the reason has something to do with dimensions."

Leo felt some surprise his partner comprehended as much of that as he did. "Dialga said I had an extra distortion around me. Could that be it?"

Blaze shrugged. "It's the only other thing that's different about you. The other distortion you have I also have, and I still got stuffed in that thing."

"What was it like inside?"

Cocking his head, "It was…comfortable, actually. Warm. Peaceful. I think I was sleeping when I was let out."

"Hm." At least humans did that much for them. After a few more moments of watching the activity below them and the approaching thunderstorm: "Speaking of sleeping, I'm more than tired enough to go to bed."

Blaze yawned, nodding.


	4. Chapter 4: Detection

**Chapter 4: Detection**

Leo Hanson groaned as the alarm clock did it's part all too well, that being waking him up to the most irritating noise known to man. Still, after taking a three-day weekend he couldn't complain too much.

He did his normal morning routine of showering, combing his light brown hair, brushing teeth, shaving and dressing in his usual blue jeans and tee shirt. Then it was a breakfast of cereal, toast and tea before heading out with sweatshirt draped over his shoulder and buying a newspaper on the way to catching the subway. It was a good half-hour to the last stop on the line across town, nearly out of the city and like many others, used the time to catch up on the daily goings-on around the region.

_City Counsel Decides To Break Ground On New Airport_, read one headline. _Parliament Nixes Plan To Raise Taxes_, read another. "Now, there's some good news," mumbling to himself. Reading further, the story went on about raising user fees for certain services, however. "Huh, figures." But he couldn't argue too much - roads did need to be paved and dozens of free Poké centers weren't cheap to maintain either.

There was also the usual Pokémon news, containing League battle outcomes, current research, and such. Even one item about a report of a defective Pokéball made by a trainer when it couldn't absorb a freshly caught Pokémon.

"Bound to happen sooner or later," he mused, thinking nothing and no one was perfect while patting the one he had attached firmly to his belt. But some Pokémon came close. Just like some projects had to.

The expected announcement of the train arriving at the last stop came over the intercom, and he walked off with the few other remaining passengers. From this point it was still a couple miles yet, so he grabbed one of the waiting community bikes and pedaled the rest the way to the large beige-brick building that was one of the University's. Or more correctly put, the result of generous funding from Derganio Corporation to the Pinnacle Valley University.

Having been past it so many times, he didn't pay much attention anymore to the sign inside the door that proudly proclaimed: "Setting the best minds free to follow dreams". It was pretty much true. Walking down the wide brightly lit halls provided a glimpse into the other handful of projects going on, most being many years away from realizing anything. Even if the end results were on the distant horizon, basic research was the cornerstone of better things to come, and those that devoted their lives to that were indispensable.

For himself, he was just slightly too impatient for that. Because of it, and also due in no small part to his being one of the best physics graduate students to come out of the university in a while, he landed on a project promising to achieve something in something less than half a lifetime.

It was also something that could be regarded as…just slightly dangerous.

He let the scanner take a reading of his palm and retina before proceeding through the sliding doors that simply stated "Advanced Physics Department". Then, it was around another corner and down a short hall where at the end another set of doors that he had to push open had merely "Lab 1" stenciled onto them.

And there it was. Behind it's own thick glass wall, stood the object that was the result of the team's six-year effort. Or almost. It wasn't quite finished yet, but beyond the few missing panels and bare wiring running here and there, one wouldn't be able to tell the thick and wide silver ring wasn't complete. The simple sheathing masked the complication inside, from advanced computer processors, superconducting wiring that would be cooled by liquid nitrogen, masers tuned to emit a constantly fluctuating frequency, to even highly experimental gravity generators capable of generating one one-millionth of Earths gravity.

The ring and surrounding support equipment represented a lot of time, sweat and theory. Not just his, but the entire team's. On it, a lot of hopes were pinned.

Yet lately…

He'd had visions for as long as could remember. They were very infrequent, maybe only one every couple of years, but some of them foretold of events that did eventually happen. And lately, he'd been having a few of them, all seemingly having some connection to the project, and all unpleasant. The most recent came as he was installing some circuit boards into the ring, nearly causing him to fall and break the expensive part from the usual faintness he got from them. What he saw…scared him just a little. Just starting the phase two tests, something was apparently going wrong… Not only that, there were a bunch of people around that he didn't recognize. That in and of itself was alarming.

As a result, his once glowing optimism for the project was now tempered. "Phase Two…" Well, they were at least a week or two away from starting Phase One, with the following phase being some indeterminate time after that.

The ongoing question was, should he tell the rest of the team of his visions? He grimaced. They'd probably regard him as nuts and needing to take some more time off. It wasn't possible to see the future, though his past history with the visions argued otherwise.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the only unusual thing about him…

"Well good morning, sunshine!" a feminine voice called from the balcony above. "Hurry up and come up here already."

Brushing aside his feeling of doom-and-gloom, he climbed the stairs to the control deck and greeted Sally. Laying eyes on her was the best tonic to any aliment. The red-head had one of the best figures and easy-going personalities around. And like the other team members, she was also wickedly smart.

"So, how's our dimensionally disturbed Leo today?"

Ticonamo, another of the members at the other end of the small balcony, wasn't quite successful in stifling a snicker.

"Cute," Leo replied, trying to be dead-pan about it. Of course it was true, reminding him of the other mystery about him he wouldn't mind solving.

After inventing and putting together most of the equations they needed for over three years, one of their first tasks was testing some of their theories by constructing a set of instruments that could detect what they termed "dimensional variations". According to their theories, they should exist, though perhaps rarely.

What they actually found after switching on the instruments for the first time three years ago, was one single variation and very close by. The first and obvious conclusion was either their theories were in error, or the instruments themselves were flawed. But try as they might, they couldn't eliminate the reading; it stayed stubbornly consistent and in short, appeared to be real. What they also noticed was it seemed to have a slight, but regular fluctuation, and in fact was timed to his own arrival and departure at the lab.

The implication quickly became clear. For whatever reason, he appeared to have his own personal dimensional "disturbance" around him that has persisted to this day. Further, no other human (or object) within the detector's estimated million-mile range appeared to have anything similar. Which was to say, he was the only object on the planet to have such a thing.

To say it was puzzling would be a gross understatement. Ironically, in some small way it had helped the team by providing a fairly constant "dimensional distortion" source to use as a standard, for constant it was. It also quickly became the second goal of the project to figure out what, exactly, it was and what had or was causing it. More than once he privately wondered if there was some connection between the distortion and his visions.

"Where's our great leader Professor Werner?" asking in seating himself down at his desk.

"He's at a board meeting with Derganio Corp," Sally answered, getting back to her programming work

"Again?" He finished logging himself into the network, intending to solve some minor, but frustrating program bugs he had left from before the weekend ago. Hopefully the extra day off cleared his mind enough for him to solve it quickly.

"Yeah, again," she answered, not moving her eyes off her screen. "Namoi and George should be showing up any time. But before you do anything, take a look at the data I sent you in an email."

"What kind of data?" He quickly got to his email, finding the said item.

"It's from the DV detector."

Meaning the Dimensional Variations detector, for which there was usually one popular use these days. "What, you've been tracking me again?" It was the downside to having such a disturbance about him: in a limited way, the detector could be used to track him anywhere on the globe, or at least, give the general direction and approximate distance.

"_Why_, you go someplace you shouldn't?" she teased in a prying tone. "But really, take a close look at the amplitude."

Finally getting the attached file opened, he started studying the graphs. The anomaly didn't take long to notice, though. In fact… "Whoa! What the…" Was the data real? "The harmonics are off…"

"I tracked you coming in this morning," Sally continued. "It showed your distortion is the same as before."

"Huh?" Double checking some of the raw data below the graphs, he suddenly noticed the distance vector with mild shock. "Hold on…this is much further away. Hey, did our calibration go out?"

"Calibrations are fine."

Glancing between her and the screen, his heart only then skipped a beat. "Then…there's a _second_ signature!"

"That's what I think. We started detecting it a couple nights ago, but I didn't see it until this morning when I decided to go over the last few days worth of data. If you look right where it started, there's also a sharp spike, though it only lasted a few minutes."

"And it's still close," Ticonamo chimed in from behind him, clearly getting excited as he stopped tapping on his own keyboard to lean over his desk. "About twenty miles, give or take a few."

Leo let out a long-held breath as he leaned back against his chair. "Holy…crud. There's someone else? A second dimensional disturbance, nearly equal to mine…" Skimming through more of the data, he calculated the general direction and was now wishing it was a whole lot more accurate for once. "What's in that direction and at that distance?"

"Jade River City," Sally answered immediately, obviously having already checked the same thing herself.

Jade River…Jade…River? Something about it clicked, something he read just recently… In sudden remembrance, he whipped out that morning's newspaper and opened to the last section. There it was, the story about the defective Pokéball's. Reading it again, he gleaned the remaining details he glossed over before, but there was nothing real important he hadn't already read. "Sally, Poke balls work on a dimensional basis, right?"

"You know that's true, but with only in combination with a Pokémon's unique DNA."

"Yeah, parts of our equations are based on that primitive technology," Ticonamo added.

"I know that," Leo replied before getting up and handing the newspaper over his desk to Sally. "Second article on the left."

The red head took and read the story before looking back curiously. "A defective Pokéball?"

"It happened in _Jade River_. And I can't believe there were two defective ones at the same time." Noting Sally quickly catching on by her widening eyes and slight opening of her mouth, "So what would be the effect of this distortion if it were around a Pokémon? Would it interfere with the Pokéball's operation?"

She only raised her eyebrows slightly, but clearly was thinking the same thing. "We'll need to find out when this event happened. If it corresponds to when we first detected that spike… But how can a Pokéball suddenly cause a dimensional distortion around a Pokémon?"

"It's not possible," Ticonamo said. "A Pokéball simply isn't capable of maintaining something like that outside of it's own environment. And the signature a Pokéball produces is not only completely different, it's too weak for our DV detector."

Ticonamo confirmed his own thoughts, but… "So, if it can't be the Pokéball that produced it…" He stared at the graph again, directly at the initial spike. "If we can find the trainer that made the report, I'd really like to ask him exactly at what time this happened. That'd tell us for sure if the spike corresponds to his attempt to capture or not."

"And if it doesn't…" Sally asked.

Leo stared back, going over various possibilities in his mind. Nearly at once, they stared at the ring below them at the same time. "No," he said at last. "There can't be another. We're on the cutting edge here. But one thing at a time; let's first find this trainer."

"Ticonamo?" Sally asked. "Could you do us a favor? Could you contact Nohirtio Industries and find out more about that report? You have a friend there, right?"

"Ah, one of the great Pokéball manufacturers," Ticonamo said with a little flare while straightening his glasses. "Well, it might take some doing, but my friend might be able to put us in touch with someone who could help us."

"Thanks, sweetie."

"I thought _I _was sweetie," Leo commented half-heartily, his mind really on the issue at hand.

"You both are," Sally grinned.

Ticonamo grinned. "Well, I think I'm dying to meet this dimensionally disturbed Pokémon. It might make a good match for you, Leo."

Grabbing the small stuffed animal he had on his desk, he threw it at his fellow team member, Ticonamo putting his hands to his chest in fake injury.

"Hold on," Sally said, putting her hand up, "that's based on a number of assumptions, none of which we've checked out yet."

"Right," Leo added. But speaking of Pokémon, and since it could be a while before Ticonamo could find out anything… Taking his lone Pokéball off his belt, he released who was inside.

"Good morning, Grovyle," Sally greeted the newly emerged Pokémon. "I was wondering when he was going to finally set you loose."

"Gro-_vyle_!" Hands on his hips, he gave Leo a stern stare.

"Sorry, this business about the second distortion distracted me," Leo apologized. "But what do you say, get you some breakfast then get to work down there?"

"Grovyle grovyle!"

Pokémon may not be able to speak English, but he understood his friend's willingness nonetheless.

* * *

"Aipom, quick attack!"

Leo heard the other human's attack order to his Pokémon and knew instantly what to do…or actually, what to expect. What to do still depended on a number of things. Launching any kind of attack while the small monkey was charging him would be foolhardy. The monkey was about to become extremely quick and hard to hit, and being a swampert meant he didn't have the speed to match it. No, he had to go on the defensive until it slowed down.

"Swamp…er, _Leo_, counter with water pulse!"

He ignored Chris, already knowing how to handle this. Or so he thought. This aipom... Leaping to get out of the way, thinking it's momentum would carry it past, the aipom instead twisted around in mid-air, catching part of his leg with a whack of it's tail in flying past. He landed with a grimace as the pain from the whack started setting in and with surprise, realized this aipom was the fastest he'd ever seen!

"Aipom, it's slow! Another quick attack!"

Chris again shouted for a water pulse, more urgently.

He really wanted to shout back it would be futile but for one, Chris implored him _not_ to talk out in public lest he'd draw a crowd and second, the aipom was already moving on the attack, affording him no time to do so anyway. If the aipom kept hitting him with such fast moving attacks, he'd either have to try one of his own attacks and hope to get lucky, or…

Purposely dodging to the side slightly late (which he really couldn't help anyway), he took the hard blow to his shoulder before crashing to the ground. There was no faking the hurt, but if he could perhaps fake how badly… Staying on the ground, he gripped his shoulder with one hand while barely digging into the well-worn short grass-covered ground with the other.

"Good work, aipom! Now, a hard tail whack and finish it!"

Although looking mostly at the ground, he watched the monkey out of the corner of his eye, then as it approached on it's slower but more powerful attack, released a bit of water through the skin of his hand and into the fistful of dirt he held, waiting for just the right…time…to…

Dodging again to the side, he flung the muddy mixture straight into the aipom's face while simultaneously avoiding the attack. The mudslap strike was perfect; the aipom hit the ground beside him and now blinded, was unable to see where to hit next. Still low to the ground, Leo gave the much smaller creature a water pulse at point-blank range, sending the monkey rolling along the ground a good distance. It didn't get back up, at least not under it's own power.

Still, he had to give the fellow Pokémon a good deal of respect. He'd never had so much trouble with an aipom before. It fought well despite being overmatched, and the trainer giving it instructions clearly knew what he was doing.

Chris, though, was even less happy than the other trainer when he got back to his side of the field, despite the victory. "Hey, if we're going to be part of a team, you're going to have to follow my instructions!"

Leo hissed. His shoulder was throbbing from the last hit, was partly out-of-breath, and he was in no mood to be lectured to by a human who wanted him to follow instructions that he knew better than to follow. "I know how to fight," replying in a strained whisper.

"You did great," Blaze said, giving a pat on his unhurt shoulder. "That aipom moved faster than any we've seen."

At least his partner, as always, was on his side.

The human sighed. "Well, I guess a win is a win, but maybe we'll need some time to figure each other out," he said while the opposing trainer was releasing another Pokémon. "OK, um…Blaze, your turn. Please follow my instructions though, OK? I can't learn how to work with you if you ignore me."

Much better put, Leo thought, grabbing a water bottle Chris had brought for him to replenish water he used during the match. Blaze returned a glance while giving a shrug and a wry grin before going onto the field.

The opposition was a machoke this time, and he had to suppress his strong urge to jump out there and support his friend; they always fought together, no matter the odds. Still, Blaze shouldn't have (too) much trouble he thought…which slipped to hope as things seemed pretty even as the match went on. For the second time that morning, Pokémon that didn't normally give them problems in their world, seemed to be giving them far more difficulty in this human world. Were Pokémon here just stronger for some reason?

As he thought on it, he realized with a start that the world was becoming suddenly fluid…wavy…unstable. No, it wasn't the world…it was him! He was getting lightheaded…and barely caught himself as he went to his knees. Feeling faint, he was sure he was going to pass out, but knew what it really was…

There was something big right in front of him. It looked like the insides of…he didn't know what, but a human hand was installing some flat, thin thing with a bunch of other unidentifiable things stuck on it. The hand put it inside, bolted it in and connected several sets of cables before closing a sliver door over it. His vision stepped back and realized he'd seen the object before. It was the silver ring…

"The what?"

Shaking his head, he found Blaze standing in front of him. "Huh?"

"You looked about to pass out! Are you alright?"

He nodded, noticing Chris to the side also standing over him. "Leo? Are you OK? Maybe I better get you to the Poké center."

"No, I'm fine," he whispered back for the benefit of both. "Really." He knew what it was and the feeling was already gone.

"Still, just to be safe. And you too, Blaze. You took a few too many hits there in winning against that machoke."

"Was it the…" Blaze asked hesitantly.

"Come on," Chris continued, urging them both to get moving. "Sooner we're there, the sooner you'll both be feeling better."

Of course Blaze would recognize the signs; he'd seen its affect on him numerous times, though not recently.

As they walked from the field, Chris leading the way, Leo made sure he altered his language so that only Blaze would understand him, "It was the Dimensional Scream." Yet, he hadn't touched anything!

* * *

Leo Hanson reached inside the large ring, grabbing the cable end before stepping up the ladder half-way up the fifteen-foot high ring to the open panel, snaking the cable up from the bottom the whole way. Once up there, he had to reach back down to pick the cable straps out of George's hand.

"You think we'll be ready to power this thing up for the first time next week?" the blonde haired coworker asked while turning around to deal with his own cables. "We still have to test half the secondary control modules before we can install them."

Gathering the slack in the cable, he put the end home into it's matching socket, giving it a twist before proceeding with installing the holding straps. "Maybe. We still have to try testing the interactions…between…the…uh, different…sys…"

Ugh. What…? His vision grew suddenly hazy, and before he could do anything, he was staring at another section of the ring. A hand moved in front of him, George's hand, as he was installing one of the microprocessor boards. George bolted the board in place, connected two cable sets, then placed the panel over the opening…

"Grovyle!"

Leo regained his breath, realizing he was in the green arms of his Pokémon…at the bottom of the ladder!

"Hey, you OK?" George asked with alarm.

"Leo!" Sally yelled as she came running down the stairs from the balcony, across the floor and past the open glass doors into the ring room.

Grovyle helped him stand and kept a hand on him along with George as he regained his balance.

"Good thing you were here, Grovyle!" George said to the Pokémon. "I had my back turned and didn't…."

Leo looked up at the ladder, also glad. Also worried. It was the third time in the last week or so he'd had one of those visions, only the earlier ones didn't happen while he was up on a ladder! "I'm fine. I just…" He stopped, knowing he wasn't sounding too convincing as he was still trying to shake off the faintness and regain his bearings after the fall.

"We're getting you to a doctor _now_," Sally insisted.

He prepared to argue with her, then realized what he saw in the vision. He had to know! Waving off her hands, he went to the other side of the ring, releasing the temporary clasps holding one of the panels.

"What are you doing?" George asked, worry in his tone.

"Leo, you need to get to…"

Ignoring them, he gave the superconductor control board a quick look. And there it was… "One of the cables isn't attached," he said, pointing out the still unattached cable partly hidden by the board.

"Huh…Ah!" George exclaimed. "I just installed that yesterday…huh? How'd you know that?"

Leo faced both of his peers and shrugged; their faces were anything but deadpan.

* * *

"It's you!" the nurse exclaimed from the other side of the counter. "The talking swampert!"

Leo was glad there was no one else in the room to hear her.

From there, it was the usual questions as she lead them into a treatment room, got Blaze seated on a table, and put two chairs together for him. Leo questioned that at first, then figured out the space between the chairs was for accommodating his back fin, so he could sit like a human. Clever, he thought, taking note and hoping Chris would do the same. It was the one part of his anatomy that he really wished wasn't there. He longed to lay on his back one of these days…

After a cursory examination, the nurse gently rubbed something into his shoulder which made an instant difference in the throbbing, the massage feeling good too.

"How's that?" she asked.

He tested it by moving his arm in it's full range of motion. "Better. Thanks."

"That'll take care of the pain, but you Pokémon heal fast, so I don't think you'll even know anything happened by tomorrow morning." The brown-haired nurse then stood back, just staring at him. "Still can't believe it: a talking Pokémon. It sure does make treatment easier when you can tell me exactly what's wrong and how you feel."

"Just like treating a human now, huh?" Chris commented.

The nurse nodded.

If only he knew, Leo thought.

Folding his arms across his chest, "Hey, is it my turn now?" Blaze asked. "My head feels like it was used as a drum!"

"My partner needs some help," Leo relayed with a nod toward Blaze. "His head hurts."

The nurse's eyes widened. "Oh! Sorry!" She hurriedly began checking the infernape out, leaving him and Chris to look on as she went through a slightly different examination.

His thoughts turned to the vision...and the ring he saw again. Though this time it was clearly the Dimensional Scream and not in a dream. Did that mean all his dreams were actually connected to the Scream? Perhaps, his dreams weren't necessarily memories, but simply events that either have happened or will happen to someone else. But the visions never happened when he was asleep before!

One thing was becoming certain, though: whatever that ring was, it was featuring prominently in his visions. Never before had the same thing appeared in more than one vision. Not only that, if the dreams were indeed the Scream, what was it that he was touching that was triggering them? Could that opposing aipom…or Blaze, have been the trigger?

He looked his partner where he was sitting on the table, being treated by the nurse as she stuck a small needle in him. He grimaced at the sight, but Blaze didn't seem to mind (much).

The aipom…he just couldn't see what connection it had with anything, but Blaze… If the ring was in their future, he would logically be involved with it at some point if they were destined to encounter it. And he did touch his shoulder just a short time before the vision. Yet…the visions always happened almost immediately after touching a trigger. It certainly had been longer than the usual interval between when Blaze touched him and when he had this last one.

Maybe an effect of being in a different world?

Didn't explain the visions coming to him as dreams, though.

Or were those truly not visions? Could he have been really remembering old memories, while the Scream was giving him visions of the future?

Sighing with irritation, he realized his own head was beginning to hurt. Too many questions and no answers. After leaving the Poké Center and on the way back to Chris's home, he explained his thoughts to Blaze in Poké speech.

His partner seemed to give them considerable thought. "Maybe we should also be looking for this ring in addition to your human self."

Leo nodded. "But my earlier dream about it, I had such a sense of…something not right about it. I think we need to be really careful for now on."

"So, what are you two talking so much about?" Chris asked, swinging around to them in the middle of the sidewalk.

"Nice weather today," Leo replied with a smile.

Chris waited a moment more before moving his eyeballs up with a slight shake of his head and getting back to leading them home.

A grin crept across Blaze's face.

* * *

Leo Hanson tried not to blink as the doctor moved the bright light from one eye to the other. "This really isn't necessary. I'm fine."

The doctor upturned a corner of his mouth while changing instruments to an ear probe. "Well, people just don't faint and fall off ladders for no reason," he replied, sticking the said equipment into first one ear, then the other. "If they did, the ladder companies would be out of business from litigation. Hold still."

It was true, people didn't for no reason, but he knew _his_ reason already, if not necessarily the root cause. Unfortunately, he feared the time was fast approaching when he was going to have to divulge it to at least Sally, George, and Ticonamo, and maybe Professor Werner and Namoi too. He wasn't thinking too clearly when he pulled the access panel off the ring and found a problem he should have known nothing about, until at least they started testing that subsystem the following week. Trouble was, was anyone going to believe him? Perhaps his next stop might be a mental ward. Though, finding that unattached cable in front of them was powerful evidence…unless they might think he pulled it off when nobody was looking to only miraculously "find" it later.

No. George only installed the board yesterday when he wasn't there.

So, if they did believe him about the visions, how would they react to the foreboding he had about a couple of them? The vision before the last…he was certain something was going wrong. "Phase Two…" What the hell was supposed to happen during it? Who were those people?

"Phase what?" the doctor asked, turning away from his computer where he was typing something in.

"Uh…sorry, thinking about work." Phase One would be a complete subsystem checkout and partial power up of the superconductor coils along with the maser emitters. Phase Two would take it further, to generate a partial…

"Alright," the doctor said, interrupting his thoughts. "I'm going to order a compete blood workup. So far, everything seems normal, but the blood tests should indicate if you have a virus or not. That would be my first guess."

"And if I don't?" Leo asked, hoping he wouldn't be ordering more tests…

"I'm having extra blood drawn to check your vitamin and mineral levels, see if you're deficient in anything. Fainting can also be caused by lack of certain nutrients. If those don't show anything, we could do an MRI and have a peek at your brain. After that…well, let's see what these other tests turn up first."

"An MRI," Leo thought as he walked out of the lab where the vampires resided. Maybe that wouldn't be such a bad thing. Perhaps it could turn up why he was getting visions.

"So, are you going to live?" Sally asked, standing up as he entered the hospital's waiting room.

"Find out next week," he replied, deliberately making her wait for an answer. After the expected "come-on-and-tell-me" look: "Doctor thinks it could be a virus. Blood tests will tell for sure." Which he already knew would come back negative. No virus would explain what happened. "Let's get out of here. I hate the smell of hospitals."

After leaving and getting into her car: "That won't explain how you knew about that unconnected cable."

He remained mostly mum about it the way back to the lab, earning him the you-know-something-you're-not-telling look next.

"Leo, are you OK?" Naomi asked, putting a hand on his shoulder as Grovyle came instantly to his side after he and Sally climbed the stairs to the balcony. George and Ticonamo were there as well, meaning the entire team was up there, except one.

"Yeah, I'm fine, until they find something wrong. Is the Professor back yet?" Not that he didn't want him back, but he really rather he wasn't if he had to launch into his explanation of how he knew about the cabled. Last thing he wanted to be is kicked off the team for being "unstable". Well, alright, he was pretty sure that wouldn't happen because of this episode, but the Professor had many connections within the university. He wanted to work on a research project, not _become_ one.

"He got back a couple hours ago," Ticonamo answered. "He's in his office."

George piped in: "He didn't look…_real_ happy. Not unhappy, but not very happy, either."

It was an open secret the Derganio Corporation had a particular interest in this project for some reason. More and more the Professor was meeting Corporation representatives, even hosting a visit at the lab for them a few weeks earlier. What wasn't real clear was why.

"George told me what happened," Naomi said with not worry, but curiosity in her voice. "I mean, about finding the disconnected cable like that. That was one heck of a…guess."

"Grovyle!" Grovyle exclaimed, as if echoing Naomi's comment.

"Got lucky," Leo replied, hoping to brush it aside.

"You made a bee-line for it, Leo," George pointed out. "Like you _knew_ it was disconnected. I put that board in when you weren't even here, so what gives with that?"

Here it comes… He sighed, taking his seat at his desk and noting all eyes were on him. Yet, he just couldn't bring himself to tell them yet. "Maybe…I just had a sudden urge to check your work," he smiled, grabbing a handful of his favorite snack of chocolate candies from his glass candy bowl before logging into his station. After several hours at the hospital, he was starving!

George sighed, shaking his head.

Even though George was a good few years younger, his work was nearly as good as his…most the time.

To his relief, the phone on Ticonamo's desk trilled. Ticonamo answered, then hurriedly pushed the glasses back up his face before grabbing a pen and scribbling something down. After another half minute of thanking whoever it was profusely, he terminated the connection.

"Hey, my friend at Nohirtio Industries came through! He got the name and address of the trainer who reported the defective Pokéballs. Guess what? He lives in Jade River City!"

* * *

Chris didn't seem in much of a hurry leading them back to his home. Instead, he took them in a slightly different direction, first along the river the city was named after, then past various buildings Leo recognized as shops of some sort, though very different and selling very different things from what he was used to. Other Pokémon were around too, generally following some human or another. Most paid he and Blaze no heed, though a couple gave friendly greetings.

"Let's go in here," Chris suggested, stopping at one store and holding the glass door open.

Leo noticed the sign on the way in: NO LARGE POKEMON ALLOWED IN STORE. "Are we large?"

"I think they mean larger then a human," the human replied, ushering them off in one direction. "Afraid of damage."

The things inside…he hadn't seen the likes of before, or rather couldn't remember seeing, though one area they walked through had clothing of various sorts.

"What's this?" Blaze asked, holding up one of the said articles.

Leo couldn't immediately place a use for the two round things attached together by a couple straps, but noticed Chris's face becoming a little red.

"Ladies underwear," he hissed quietly. "Put it back!"

"What's underwear?" But Blaze shrugged and did as asked.

A young human woman nearby was grinning; Chris gave a audible sigh of relief when they got past the area.

In going down the various isles, the human picked several items, most being food, judging by the drawings on the containers. Then one of the isles had a sign titled "Pokémon food" above it. "What kind of food do you two like?"

Leo exchanged glances with Blaze after briefly looking down the row of shelves stacked high with bags of… "Food?"

"Yeah, they have all kinds of Pokémon food here. What do you like?"

"The hot dogs were good," Blaze commented.

"So were those potato chips," Leo added after translating Blaze's comment.

"Uh, well, they are good, but you need something more nutritious. So do I, actually."

"Do they have applies or berries?"

Frowning a little, "Well, they're kinda expensive right now. This food here is even better for you, though. And cheaper."

Following his partner down the isle, Leo eventually agreed with him on something based entirely on smell and the drawing on the bag. Though he read the words on it to Blaze, "Wholesome", "Flavorful", "Eleven Herbs & Spices" and "Great Aroma" held little meaning.

Chris hoisted a couple of the smaller bags and lead them to what he called a checkout line, where Blaze struck up a short conversation with a pichu behind them, though it was clear the pichu knew little, being very new to the world.

Leo sighed. For some reason, the waiting in line was getting to him. He found himself staring idly at each of the items on display around them…stopping on one in particular, "Choc…a…late candies." Huh? Visible through the clear bag were a handful of dark brown…berries? On a powerful urge, he grabbed the bag off it's hook for a closer sniff, and for just an instant, saw a glass bowl filled with them as a sweet taste filled his mouth.

"Leo?"

He faced Blaze, realizing that he hadn't moved for a moment. "I think I like these." Another memory? Certainly wasn't the Dimensional Scream…

"Looks like your Pokémon wants that chocolate," some female voice said.

Turning, he saw both Chris and the woman on the other side of the counter staring at him.

"Fine," Chris replied, grabbing the bag from him to allow the woman to move it over something, producing a beep.

"The food is for a trip we're taking tomorrow morning," Chris announced after they left the store.

"What?" Blaze asked, almost incredulously.

"Where are _you_ going?" Leo asked and like Blaze, not really liking the surprise and not being asked.

"Well, remember the gym battle I told you about? The gym is in Pinnacle Valley. If we can win the match there, it's last badge I need before I can enter in the Tournaments. I lost my last two attempts but I think with you two on my team, I can win there finally."

"Didn't you say before we needed more time to work with each other?" Leo asked. Not that he particularly wanted to work with the human, but if he had to, he would agree it'd be wise to get some more practice first.

Blaze was nodding in agreement.

Chris was grinning while shifting the apparently heavy and awkward load he was carrying around in his arms. "Oh don't worry about that, there'll be plenty of chances for battles along the way. I would prefer to wait and work with you more before setting off, but my summer vacation is running out and I'd really, really like to get into the Tournaments before going back to work. There is just no time to wait to get that last badge. Um…_oh_, sorry, I'm just not used to asking my Pokémon's permission. Are you OK with this?"

"If we want this human's help, I don't think we have much choice," Blaze replied.

Reluctantly, Leo nodded. Then to Chris: "We'll do our best," while catching one of the slipping bags of Pokéfood before it hit the ground.

The rest of the walk back was uneventful as they moved out of the area that had the shops to where most people lived. They passed the now-familiar park, with it's seemingly never-ending battles between Pokémon and the humans who were their "trainers", with the current battle being between a chimchar and a bulbasaur.

"That bulbasaur's gonna get roasted," Chris commented.

"If humans choose which Pokémon to battle, the one that choose that bulbasaur to fight that chimchar is dumb," Blaze commented, folding his arms across his white haired chest as the three of them stopped to watch. "But I hope the chimchar wins," flashing a sharp-toothed grin.

As predicted, the fight instantly started out back for the bulbasaur, and it was all downhill from there. Leo felt sorry for the bulbasaur and the young human boy, shedding water from his eyes as he ran right past them in the direction of the Pokécenter.

He and Blaze had left more than their share of grass-type Pokémon in…slightly less than healthy shape. But then, all those Pokémon attacked of their own free will and of course, he and Blaze had to defend themselves. It was a constant struggle as many Pokémon, regardless of how they stacked up against each other, seemed to have an innate desire to compete and become stronger, many of them living in the wilds to look for their next chance to fight.

Though some Pokémon exhibited that trait more then others. For the two of them, they evolved to their strongest forms a while ago and felt little need to make themselves even stronger. And yet, having the trouble he did in dealing with just an aipom…

"Poor kid," Chris finally said as they started moving again. "I'll bet that's his first Pokémon, and maybe even his first battle, too. Hope his bulbasaur's OK."

He had a few questions, but decided to hold them until they got back to Chris's apartment; too many humans around would hear him talk.

Blaze took the other bag of Pokéfood from Chris while he got his apartment door open, then commented on the blinking light on the way to the kitchen.

"Hey, Professor Korton left a message," Chris announced, apparently noticing the same. "Touch 'Play Message' on the screen to play it," as he started unpacking.

Leo read the screen and very gently, touched it with one of his big blue fingers. The Professor's image appeared on the screen immediately and started speaking.

_"Hello Chris. I've heard back from the other Pokémon Professors in the area. I'm afraid of the trainers who have a first name of "Leo", none seem to have a grovyle. One does have a treecko, which you probably know evolves into a grovyle, but that's pretty much it. In case you did want to meet that trainer, I downloaded a photo of him to your phone. Maybe he's the one you're looking for, but like I said, no other Leos have a grovyle that anyone has records of. Sorry I couldn't be of more help. Good luck and talk to you later."_

Leo watched the Professor's image fade from the screen, noticing Chris had joined them at some point. "Does this mean this Leo doesn't exist?"

Chris sighed, appearing to think for a minute. "Well, I'm sure he was only able to check for this country. Other possibilities are the databases the Professors have aren't up-to-date, this Leo doesn't exist, or he's not a trainer; not everyone who has Pokémon is a trainer. In fact, most aren't. Might as well check out that photo, though." Reaching across the chair, the blonde-haired human touched a few squares on the screen; a photo of a human boy appeared.

"He looks young," Blaze said. "How old are you supposed to be?"

"Older then when Wigglytuff formed the guild," Leo replied. "What would that be, at least fifteen years?" To Chris: "He's too young."

Chris furrowed his forehead: "You know how old your Leo is?"

_Your Leo_ was an interesting way of putting it, Leo thought. "Not exactly, but he's older then this human." Not to mention he didn't recognize the boy one bit, which didn't necessarily mean he would recognize himself if he did see him. But he was hoping he would.

"Dunno how much that will help. A last name would have us find him almost instantly. _Sure_ you don't know it?"

It was only the number one thing at the top of his "must remember" list… "Yes, I'm sure. So what do we do now?" asking as he felt hope fading.

Chris pulled out a large cloth sack with straps attached from a space under the desk and moved back into the kitchen before answering. "Guess we have to start calling up each of the Leos in the phone directory. I can't think of anything else to do. I was pretty sure this guy would be a trainer since he has a grovyle, but apparently he isn't…or at least isn't one in this country." Opening the cloth sack by sliding something on it that produced a weird muffled metallic sound, he started stuffing it with much of the food he bought earlier. "But we should confine our search here at first; even then, it's going to take a while, like a few weeks to get through the entire phone directory. I'll have to start calling when we get back from Pinnacle Valley."

* * *

Leo Hanson terminated the connection. Busy. So, this Chris Urbason was home finally…or someone just happened to be leaving him a message right at the moment. He would have left him a message earlier himself, but felt he should at least introduce himself "live."

"No luck yet?" Sally asked, getting up from her console and stretching, inadvertently showing off some of her feminine attributes.

…or maybe not so inadvertently Leo thought, noting she was watching his every move all of the sudden. He swore she teased him purposely every now and then. "Not yet."

"Well, guess you'll have to try again tomorrow. You're still feeling alright, right? Do you want me to drive you home?"

"Ah no, I'm fine, thanks," returning her smile. Was she hoping he'd say otherwise? Maybe he should say yes instead... No, he really needed to do something else on the way out and didn't want to keep her. "The Professor is still in his office?"

Sally had already gathered her few things and was starting down the stairs. "Last time I checked an hour ago. He hasn't been out since we got back I think. Maybe I should stop in and see if everything's alright."

"I was planning on doing that anyway. Go ahead and have yourself a good evening. No doubt we'll be putting in late nights soon enough."

She cocked her head a little, letting her long red hair fall to the side slightly. "Well, alright. See you tomorrow, then, and let me know if anything's up with him…or you, OK?" With a wave, she was down the stairs and left the lab, leaving him alone with the others having already gone home for the day.

He finished the minor task of saving off his work, hoping he had finally eliminated the one bug that'd been causing him grief, before logging out. He also hoped his other source of grief from the others trying to get to the bottom of what happened with him earlier would stop as well.

"Stupid," he finally said out loud before remembering Grovyle was still there. He should never have removed that plate to check what he saw in his vision. _Well, too late now. _With an annoyed sigh at himself, he left his desk and headed out of the lab, Grovyle padding behind almost silently, to stop at Professor Werner's office. Light was illuminating the frosted glass in the door, more or less proving he was still in there. After knocking and waiting for the Professor to answer, he motioned Grovyle to wait in the hall and entered the quaint office that was filled with various technological relics, including a very old "desktop" computer in one corner that stopped functioning long ago.

"Hi Professor," greeting as he came in. The grey-haired man who was over twice his age was sitting at his large, cluttered, decades-old metal desk, typing on his much more modern computer.

"Oh, Leo!" the Professor replied in his slightly northern-type accent that tended to blur certain vowels. "I heard what happened to you today. I was going to stop out there, but I had something pressing to take care of for our sponsors. Are you OK? Did the hospital find anything?"

"No, I'm fine. They're still doing some tests, but so far everything's fine."

The older man nodded. "Good, good."

He was about to ask about the meeting the Professor had earlier, but the head of the project continued: "I also wanted to talk to you about this data the DV detector recorded. This is unbelievable! Have you been able to contact that trainer yet?"

"Ticonamo's been filling you in, then?" Not that that was a bad thing since it meant one less thing he had to tell the Professor. After the Professor nodded, "No, haven't been able to get a hold of him yet. I'm going to try again tomorrow."

The Professor leaned back, folding his hands as if considering something. "Would you do me a favor then? Would you travel to Jade River yourself tomorrow and talk to this trainer? I think it would be better if one of us introduced ourselves and talked to him in person."

"Go there tomorrow?" Not that the request surprised him; the thought of going there himself had already crossed his mind, but… "Isn't this a little fast? I think talking to him over the phone first would be better."

The Professor seemed to acknowledge by nodding again. "Right, but finding someone else with a distortion like yours I think warrants a little more attention. See if you can talk this trainer into bringing his Pokémon here. With the equipment here, we can learn more than otherwise."

"Bring him here? Into the lab?" Alright, now he was beginning to be surprised. Doing tests very well could be the eventual course of action, but… "That would mean exposing him to the project. I was thinking of just meeting him and gathering more information first, before deciding what…"

"I've already decided. We need him and his Pokémon here in order to do any reasonable study; all the equipment is _here_. Ticonamo's friend said it was a swampert, right?"

"Uh, right." Assuming it did have the distortion and it was the reason for the Pokéball's failure. "But what about security? I thought we weren't going to expose people outside the project to this." Was he just being overcautious? The Professor did seem to be in far more of a hurry than he was, too.

"We'll make him sign a non-disclosure. And the Pokémon certainly isn't going to say anything."

If it was only one person, then maybe it would be OK. "Well…alright."

"What I'm really curious about…is why we just suddenly started detecting this distortion only two nights ago. And a Pokéball certainly can't cause it, in any malfunction mode."

"I know." A Pokéball being the only real technology in existence that dealt with dimensions when they first detected his own distortion, the project team had already examined the technology to see if it could cause such a thing. In short, it couldn't.

The Professor fell silent for a half moment, before reaching for something that jingled out of a drawer and throwing it to him. "Take the university car. I'll take your bike and catch the subway tonight."

Leo tried to envision the man being in his late sixties on the bike and gave up. "I could drop you off at home…"

"No, no. I need the exercise anyway. I may not look it, but I still occasionally ride one." He tapped a few more keys on his keyboard and by his silence, made it clear he was done. "Good luck tomorrow."

"Uh, Professor, I was also wondering how the meeting with Derganio went?"

"Huh? Oh, it went about as well as usual. They just have a lot of interest in this project, as you know."

"I gathered that, but have they ever said why?"

"Same reasons as us, mostly. Advancement of technology and opening new ways of travel. They are a energy and _transportation_ company, you know."

Deciding it was time to be more straightforward: "John…it's just, it feels like they're becoming a little overbearing. Like their interest is becoming unhealthy." He didn't often call the Professor by his first name, but being the second oldest person on the team after the Professor, he sometimes used that privilege when he felt it necessary. "This is a University project, and they're only providing _half_ the funding."

"And helped build this building. They also originally suggested the idea of this project. Look Leo, if this technology works, the next step is making it failsafe and then distributing it on a world-wide scale. Derganio wants to be first in line, naturally. But the CEO himself is personally interested in it. He just finds the whole concept fascinating. That's all there is to it."

It made sense…in a overly simplistic way.

As he was starting to leave the Professor's office: "Oh and Leo, please be careful."

Huh? He paused closing the door behind him. "Careful? Is meeting this guy going to be dangerous?"

The Professor smiled again. "Shouldn't be. But be careful anyway."

He left the Professor's office wondering if there wasn't some hidden meaning. Driving to Jade River and meeting with the trainer shouldn't be any more dangerous then driving to meet anyone else. Did the Professor know something about this trainer?

All-in-all, he seemed alright, but his big hurry to find this trainer and get him to the lab puzzled him a little. "Just feels like he's jumping the gun a little. Bring someone in the lab without any background checking?"

Walking beside him, Grovyle looked up. "Groveryle?"

Leo waited until they left the building before continuing, "…or maybe he had already and that was why he was telling me to be careful." Glancing at his green friend, he didn't really expect him to follow his train of thoughts.

Yes, that would make sense, though not the urgency. It almost felt like there was something the Professor wasn't telling him. And…he paused, looking back at the doors to the building he and Grovyle just left, "Was that a bruise on the Professor's forearm?"

"_Groooo_vyle?"


	5. Chapter 5: Missions

**Chapter 5: Missions**

"Popcorn and a movie," Chris called it.

Certainly the popcorn was delicious, almost to the point where he just wanted to stick his large blue head in the big bowl and munch huge mouthfuls. He was sure Blaze (and probably Chris) would have frowned on that, though.

Watching moving images on the large screen with it's accompanying sound wasn't bad either, though he didn't understand a lot of it. Chris had to explain it was an old, classic movie about humans and their Pokémon partners chasing large whirlwinds called tornadoes in someplace named Oklahoma. It had it's share of excitement, along with whole host of words he'd never heard before…or at least, couldn't remember hearing before. When he asked what they meant, Chris only said not to use them in public; something about it ruining the image of Pokémon. He swore Blaze was grinning in the dark glow of the screen afterward.

"What a staraptor wouldn't give to do a wind attack like an F5 tornado," commenting after they walked out onto the patio and glad to finally be alone with Blaze after Chris retired.

But Blaze was staring at the lit landscape around them that was the city at night and didn't respond for a few heartbeats. "Leo, do you think we'll find your human self soon? I don't know how much time we have, but I assume we don't have forever."

Leo rubbed one of his gills, now wondering the same thing. Dialga hadn't known how much time they had either, but his urgency couldn't be missed. "I'm sure we'll find him," fairly confident in that at least. Just how long it would take was entirely another matter. Whether it would be "in time" to stop whatever it was they were supposed to stop, he had no clue. "When we do find him, we still have to find out what it is we're supposed to prevent."

"Guess I thought it was going to be too easy," Blaze replied, scratching behind his red ear. "You had another memory return today?"

He looked back through the patio door to the empty bag of chocolate candies he had eaten during the movie; they tasted even better than they smelled. "In the shop, it felt like I'd had them before, that they were a favorite of mine. Think I remembered a bowl too, but that's all."

Jerking his tail around him, "Ah, so your human self likes those chocolate candies," Blaze replied rather flatly. "Another clue, then."

"I wonder if that's common among humans, though," Leo mused. When Blaze hadn't moved his gaze from the scene below them, he knew something else was bothering his friend besides just finding the human Leo. "What's wrong?"

His partner visibly tightened his grip on the black railing. "In our world we are really strong. We worked hard to become that way, we fully evolved, and hardly anyone can beat us. Here in this human world…when I was fighting that machoke, I felt like a chimchar again. It's…bothering me. More than I would have thought."

Staring back, Leo felt a little surprised at how his partner's sentiments mirrored his own. "At least you only had problems with a machoke; I was nearly knocked out by an aipom!"

Blaze faced him, letting out a quiet and short lived "Ha ha!" chuckle. "So you _are_ feeling the same way. I wasn't sure."

"Yes, it's been bothering me too," Leo admitted. If he _had_ lost, that would have counted among the more embarrassing moments of his life, without doubt.

With an annoyed sigh, "What is it here? It seems the Pokémon are tougher than the Pokémon on our world. Is it because they have humans with them?"

Which again, was a thought that had crossed his mind earlier. And then something started to make sense. "The humans are called _trainers_…"

"Huh. I only thought it was a name given in passing," Blaze replied in a more thoughtful tone. "Maybe the humans do make a difference and don't just give orders and watch for fun."

"The human who was controlling that aipom was telling him to make the best possible attacks against me today, and he executed them very well. That human was even calling out the next attack almost before the last one was over. I nearly couldn't decide what to do fast enough." Leo found himself still respecting not just the aipom, but the human as well.

"What's that old Poké saying…two heads are better than one? Maybe…working with Chris won't just be good for finding your human self, but in helping us get stronger too. I mean, if we're going to get pushed around by machokes and aipoms here, we have some work to do!"

Leo couldn't have agreed more. "Chris said we'll get plenty of chances for matches on the way to the other city tomorrow. I think we better take advantage of them."

Blaze nodded right before jumping back from him, his mouth agape in surprise.

"Huh?" Following his partner's gaze, he swung around.

"Hello, Blaze, Leo!" a high-pitched voice said quietly.

Grin spreading across his face, "Celebi!"

"I finally found you two! Palkia sensed you were around here somewhere, but of course I had to actually do the pinpointing." Then in a serious tone with hands on her hips: "Living with humans already, I see," though her smile evaporated any semblance of seriousness.

"Chris is helping us find my other self," Leo replied.

"In exchange for battling for him," Blaze quickly added.

"Oh? Battling?" Celebi lowered herself down a little, putting herself more between the two of them as the wind from her wings slightly ruffled Blaze's mane. "Sounds like a few things have happened since you arrived here."

Leo launched into telling the events since they arrived, with much commentary from Blaze.

"You really are going to battle for this human then?" she asked. "Just don't forget why you're here while you're having fun," winking one of her large blue eyes.

Exchanging a knowing glance with Blaze, "Not sure how 'fun' it's going to be; the Pokémon here are tougher then what we're used to."

"But…it is good that you're going to that Pinnacle Valley town."

Blaze furrowed his forehead. "Why's that?"

"Since Dialga and Palkia arrived in this world, they've been working together to locate your human self by trying to detect the distortion around him, the same one you have, Leo. But this distortion is unlike the first distortion that's around the two of you," Celebi said, pointing to Leo and Blaze. "This second distortion is harder to track. The first one makes tracking you two relatively easy, and it _still_ took me all day to actually find you as this town is large. But your human form only has the second distortion, and it took both Dialga and Palkia more time to "feel" his location. The best they could do was to locate him somewhere around the Pinnacle Valley town, which isn't all that far. Looks like Palkia did an excellent job selecting the location for the two of you to enter this world."

"In Pinnacle Valley?" Blaze said, excitement suddenly beaming from his face as he did a small jump.

"Is it possible to find out his last name?" Leo asked, hoping she or the two dragons might have discovered more than just his human self's general location.

Celebi went from looking quizzical to confused. "Last name?"

"Humans have two names: a first and last," quickly explaining. "I've only remembered my first up to now. I don't know what my last name was."

"Oh! Well, I don't know."

"Or how about what the human Leo looks like?" Blaze asked.

The small light green Pokémon shook her head gently. "Sorry, I don't know that either. Palkia mentioned he would like nothing better than to actually observe your human self, but he's rather frustrated that he can't even pinpoint his location. In fact…and don't tell either of them that I told you this," she said with a mischievous smile, "he and Dialga had a bit of an argument. Palkia said none of this would be happening if he hadn't brought Leo back from non existence."

Leo felt a sharp pang in his chest at that comment. Palkia never struck him as being quite as happy around him as Dialga was. Perhaps now he knew why.

"Of course, Dialga pointed out to him it was the two of you that later saved his tail, so to speak, as well as the world for the second time." Celebi laughed, "I'd never seen Palkia go speechless like that before!"

At least Dialga was indeed solidly on his side. "I just wonder if I'm going to recognize my human self when I see him."

"I have faith you will, Leo," Blaze said, watching Celebi move over them.

Leo felt her slight weight settle on his back and head, right between his head fins. "Huh? What are you doing?"

"I've been flying _all_ afternoon and evening. I'm tired. And you look strong and comfortable…and cute, so I thought I would just settle in here…"

Blaze appeared to be suddenly struggling in maintaining composure. "I wish I had a mirror to show you Leo, with her head right above yours. You do look…_cute,_" as a massive grin finally started showing on his face.

He tried in vain to see in moving his eyes up, but it was no use. Two points like elbows pressed slightly into his head, and when Blaze mimicked resting his head propped up by his two arms, he felt considerably less than dignified.

"Yes, much better," Celebi announced. "Now then, you're worried about recognizing your original human incarnation? But you _do_ know he has a Grovyle with him, the same one that you said helped you save the worlds the first time."

"I would like to see _him_ again very much too," Blaze commented with a slight puff of his mane.

"Just remember Blaze: like me, Grovyle will have no knowledge of either of you. Like me, the version of him that knew the two of you no longer exists. You could say this is his pre-Time Paralysis version, the way he ended up without the time-freeze disaster ever happening."

"That part I understand."

"Good. And you, Leo, have you thought of what you're going to say to yourself when you do meet him?"

Leo resisted the urge to scratch the itch he was getting from some of Celebi's fine hairs. "I…" It was a good question, making him realize he hadn't put much thought at all into it, being more worried about finding him first. "…guess I would just tell him what's going on."

"Hm," before she fell silent for a moment. "When you were turned into a Pokémon, do you remember how you felt when you first realized that?"

There was a feeling he would never forget! "Lost. All I could remember was my name and I was once human. I didn't even know where I was."

"Ah. So, now imagine your human self, and this talking Pokémon walks up to him and says, "Hia there, Leo! Guess what? I'm you, but been turned into a Pokémon in a future that no longer exists.'"

And before he could get a word in about proving it: "And since you remember _nothing_ of when you were human, how are you going to prove it? It's not like you'll be able to say something only you would know, like: 'Hey Leo, remember that time when…," he felt her shrugging, "…you were walking along that path and a apple fell on your head four years ago?'"

He grimaced, watching Blaze do the same as he stared above him at Celebi.

"Ah…we never thought that far," the infernape admitted. "Any suggestions?"

"Nope. None. But…I'm sure the two of you will figure out something. After all Leo, maybe what Uxie did might help stir up some memories yet," tapping her finger on the side of his head several times.

He almost jumped. "What? You know about that?"

"How?" Blaze echoed, his mane puffing again.

"Because I visited her the day after you did. I went to ask if she could in any way restore even part of his human memory. I was quite surprised to hear that you had already been there about the very same thing. The two of you are actually quite smart."

And as if to emphasize it, she patted his head a few more times.

"I'll further that by guessing your human self is the same way. _Anyone_ who crosses from one world to another to investigate problems with time, _has_ to be smart. Very smart."

Jumping slightly, "Ha ha! Then that's one more thing we know about your human self, Leo," Blaze pointed out.

Celebi went on: "Of course, I could be completely wrong; _every_ human could be really smart, which then wouldn't make you stand out so much. But…I don't think so, and in any case, _I_ think you're pretty smart regardless," finishing with a giggle.

"Um…thanks." Remembering her other self from the Future That No Longer Exists, he already knew she could be a flirt. That thought was only reinforced when he started feeling… "Hey, quit tickling!"

She giggled. "Ooooh, are you ticklish there?"

"Yep, he's ticklish around those fins!" Blaze confirmed, obviously getting another bout where he could barely contain himself.

Putting a hand up by his fin only moved the maddening sensation over to the other fin. "Hey…!" Which then necessitated both hands, where he quickly discovered he couldn't protect very much of his fins at all!

All the while, Blaze was dying.

"OK, OK!" Celebi squeaked in a high-pitched mock surrender when he finally managed to reach over his head and grab her between his two large hands. After letting her go: "I only did it because you're my favorite human-turned-Pokémon."

"I'm the _only_ human-turned Pokémon!" Leo pointed out.

"Currently, which makes you my favorite, silly!"

"_Currently_?"

"So, can I spend the night here to rest?" quickly changing subjects. "I'm too tired to fly back to Dialga and Palkia yet to tell them I found you."

Which seemed to sober up Blaze in a hurry, "Ah…" jabbing a thumb toward the patio doors.

Leo felt no less than disappointment himself. "There's a human living here! If he sees you, I don't know how to explain you." Which was, more or less, the truth. "We haven't really told him anything yet."

"Oh…I see. Yes, I guess you're right then, if you haven't told him why you're here…yet. There are any number of beings who would really like to capture me, humans probably among them. Being able to travel through time is a rare gift….and a curse. I'll just sleep in that tree down there," pointing with a sigh to the nearest large tree that towered even over their third-story level. "Yes, from that tree I can still watch you two, and make sure you don't get into any trouble!"

"Everyone's always worried about me getting into trouble," Blaze mumbled…but with a smile.

* * *

The map crinkled as Grovyle studied it carefully in the seat next to him, moving a two-fingered hand over some of the road lines. It wasn't that Leo Hanson minded driving, he just minded driving around the crazy streets in the center of cities. Especially during the later part of the morning rush hour. Too many other crazy drivers, too many bicycles, and too many…

He slammed on the brakes as the kid shot out from between two parked cars, stopping just in time.

…pedestrians. He was quite thankful for his trusted Grovyle being with him, at least. He knew his green partner could read some human language, but he was surprisingly good at reading maps, which he guessed was due to their pictorial nature.

"Grovyle!"

Turning the direction his partner indicated at the next intersection, he felt relieved there was a park on one side of the street to provide a good line-of-sight against any more suicidal kids running around. Fortunately their destination was only a few blocks further, in the form of a multi-story apartment tower that Grovyle pointed out from the picture provided by on-line mapping software. And with further relief, parking wasn't much of a problem with ample spaces around and underneath the building.

"OK Grovyle," Leo said before opening his door, "remember, Professor Werner for some reason said to be careful of this person I think, although his profile suggests he's just an ordinary trainer. But just the same, let's be on guard a little."

"Grovyle!"

"Alright then, let's meet this trainer and his new supposed anomalous swampert."

The building, being unsecured, allowed unrestricted access, though they saw each individual unit had it's own lock system once they arrived on the third floor. "Number three-oh-seven, three-oh-seven…" mumbling mostly to himself, but partly for Grovyle's benefit as they passed the door numbers in succession. He knew he was at least a little nervous. After all, just how was he going to explain dimensional variations to the guy? "Uh, sir, I have reason to suspect your swampert here has a slight dimensional distortion around it that our sensors picked up a few nights ago. We'd like you and your swampert to come to the lab with us so we can examine it and run some tests…"

Yeah, right. Way too police sounding. "All right, one thing at a time," still mumbling as they arrived at the door. "Let's just introduce ourselves first and ask to come in. One step at a time."

"Gro…"

He waited while Grovyle reached up to smooth some of his hair.

"Thanks buddy."

The green Pokémon nodded.

Wondering what he would do without his friend of many, many years, he hit the button and waited.

And waited….

…and waited some more.

"Hm." Hitting the button again, he listened carefully for any sound of the bell. Yep, it did ring, and several heartbeats later it was becoming obvious the trainer wasn't at home, to which he wasn't completely disappointed in. But, he had a job to do in finding him.

He hit the button one last time and after a half-minute, decided the trainer definitely wasn't at home. "Well Grovyle, we must have missed him." A glance at his watch told it was only mid-morning, and proved that he hadn't really dawdled on the twenty-some mile drive. "Maybe gone to whatever job he has."

Sounds of a different door unlocking got his attention and an elderly woman emerged from the next door over. She noticed him immediately, but locked the door behind her first before speaking. "Are you looking for Chris?"

"Uh yes, I am. Do you know where I can find him?"

"And who are you?"

"Oh, sorry." Quickly pulling out a card, "He doesn't know me, but it's important I talk to him."

The woman put on the pair of reading glasses that were hanging around her neck before holding the card up in front of her. "Leo Hanson. Associate Senior Researcher, Department of Advanced Physics, University of Pinnacle Valley." Her eyebrows raised.

"If you could give him my card and ask him to call me on my cell as soon as he can, I'd really appreciate it."

"I'll do that, young man," the woman replied, making him smile at the word "young." At thirty-three years, being the second oldest in the lab almost made him feel like everyone's father! He couldn't imagine what Professor Werner felt like. Probably like everyone's grandfather. But then, he really was a grandfather.

"Well, I dunno whether to hang around and wait for him to come home or not." The woman said as they were parting that Chris had left early that morning and that he was also on a summer vacation, so he wasn't working for a few weeks. Other then that, she claimed not to know anything. "If he doesn't have a job, he could come home at any time."

"Grooovyle."

He waited for his partner to gingerly climb in and shut the door, carefully parting his two tail leaves in sitting. Human car seats didn't always fit Pokémon very well, depending on their exact anatomy. Fortunately, Grovyle fit better in cars than a lot of others.

His cell chimed just as he was about to start the engine. "Leo."

"Hey there, it's Sally."

Not that he didn't recognize her voice immediately. Really, other than Naomi, there were no other females in his life in anything approaching regularity. "What's up?"

"I'll assume you didn't find Chris at his home."

Her statement made him pause for just a second. "How'd you know that?"

"Because the distortion signature is moving."

"Moving? Where?" If the distance it traveled was great enough that the DV detector was detecting it…

"Well, you know the resolution can't pin anything down more than within a few miles, but it's showing a definite movement…towards us. As best as I can tell, he's moved a several miles this morning and is probably outside Jade River already."

Leo glanced at his Pokémon friend next to him. Sarcastically: "_Great._ Looks like our search has just become harder."

* * *

Chris called it a subway train, though Leo thought it a weird name. Whatever it was, it was large, moved fast underground, and had lots of humans crammed on board, many of whom didn't appreciate the fact there were two medium-size Pokémon crammed in with them. Fortunately the ride didn't last long before they were in another, much less crowded train. This second one apparently took them the furthest any of them went, nearly outside the city. Then with the sun halfway up it's morning arc, it was onto the walking path that went between Jade River City and Pinnacle Valley.

It wasn't unpleasant, with the smells and sounds of the surrounding forest and occasional grassy areas not dissimilar to what he and Blaze were used to on their own world. Still: "Why don't we use one of those boxes with wheels that carry humans around?" he asked, after Chris said they'd be walking for a couple days. It wasn't that he wasn't used to such long journeys – he and Blaze often had walks like that for many of their explorations – but if a faster way presented itself, why not use it?

"You mean a car?" Chris asked. "We wouldn't get to battle along the way for one, and I really can't afford a car anyway; my job doesn't pay that much. So, we have to walk."

"What is his job?" Blaze asked.

Leo translated.

"I'm a delivery driver. You know, packages and such."

"He's like some of the pelippers then," Blaze furthered.

"So, what is all that stuff in those bags you got?" Chris asked after a little while. "You never did tell me what country those coins are from, either. Very odd the coins don't say that. All money at least says the country."

"Country?" Leo pondered. Chris had mentioned countries a few times, but he didn't understand what it meant.

"Don't tell me you don't know about all the countries either?" After the expected sigh, he explained about the different areas of the world split up between different human governments. "So then, where _is_ that money from? I'm kinda interested. Or are you sure they aren't just tokens?"

At this point, Leo wasn't sure what he should admit to. If he insisted it was money, that'd only invite the next question of "where from". He knew what a token was, but then it'd be the obvious question of "what for". He looked to Blaze for help.

"Tell him it's money."

"And what do I tell him about where it's from?" Leo returned.

Shrugging, "Just don't say anything."

He grimaced. _Right_. "It is money, where we're from."

The human stared back as he walked abreast of them. "OK, then…_where_ are you from?"

"Someplace you haven't been." Leo knew that'd invite another question, and the human didn't disappoint.

"There's _lots_ of places I haven't been. Care to be more specific?"

"No."

Blaze started snickering.

"Uh, OK," Chris replied with expressed puzzlement. "Guess we all have our secrets."

They fell silent as a boy approached and passed them, looking in a bit of a hurry.

"Notice the Pokéballs on that kid's belt?" Chris asked. Not waiting for an answer: "Bet he's heading for the Jade River Gym. Anyone with that determined a face I peg as a challenger."

"Did you have a match there?" Leo asked.

"Yep, took me two tries before I beat the Leader. Electabuzz was able to come through for me in the end. But the Leader in Pinnacle Valley…" He shook his head slowly. "That guy has several ground and grass types. Most of my team, as you've found out, are electric. That's why I really need the two of you to help round out my team."

"Yes, I noticed what types attacked me," Leo replied with still slightly festering bitterness. The jolt he got that evening from the combined power of no less than _three_ electric type Pokémon wasn't one he was likely to forget. He didn't even regain consciousness until the next day! And that was after being treated in one of those 'Poké centers'. "That hurt, you know."

"Sorry," Chris replied. "But battling isn't painless…is it?"

"Depends," Blazed replied.

"Depends," Leo echoed. He or Blaze, or sometimes both of them, had gotten hurt in battle plenty of times. But healing usually didn't involve much more than rest or eating a berry or two. There were, of course, the more serious type of injuries, including those one passed out from. That was where one or more good friends come in real handy to get one's self out of those places. Fortunately, he and Blaze had managed to avoid those type of injuries in nearly all situations where it could have happened.

Another small human approached and this time, didn't pass quietly. Instead, he stopped several paces from them, whipping something out of his pocket.

Chris likewise stopped. "I think we might have our first challenger of the day."

"How do you know?" Leo asked.

"He's scanning you."

"Scanning?"

"With a Pokédex. He doesn't know what one or both of you are, so he's scanning you to find out. He's sizing you up for a challenge, most likely."

Blaze shrugged again, "What's a Pokédex?"

Sure enough, the kid was soon walking up to them, "A swampert and a infernape? Mister, care to battle?"

Leo saw the smile creeping across Chris's face. "Sure!"

The kid ran back, whipped a Pokéball out of his pocket, and at the end of a red beam the Pokémon was soon standing.

"_Another_ electric type?" Leo exclaimed. And a luxray, no less! He sure hoped Chris wasn't planning on… At once he realized he had spoken out loud in human speak and the kid was staring wide-eyed at him.

"That…that Pokémon…swampert…_talked!_"

Sighing, Chris gave him a pained look. "Leo…"

"Wow! I can't believe it! I mean, it actually _talked!_ Oh, mister, let me battle that one!" the kid visibly overflowing with excitement.

Well, since the kid already knew… "I'm not battling an electric type," he shouted back, mostly to ensure Chris would forget any notion he had about putting him out there.

Chris groaned. "Leo, would you please not…"

"What's the matter, you _afraid_ of me, blue skin?" the luxray returned in an unmistakable mocking tone. "And why are you talking in human speech? Can't you speak Poké? Are you stupid?"

He and Blaze had encountered their share of cocky Pokémon before. He already was starting to count this one as among that number. "If you were a magmortor, you wouldn't be talking like that!"

"Let _me_ at him!" Blaze shouted, pointing to himself and leaping. "I'll teach him a few manners!"

Which would be a good idea, considering Blaze would have decent effect against a luxray without a water type's weakness.

"Well, come on then, little ape! Let's go! Or you, swampert! Or are you really a big chicken?" The sharp teeth in it's unfriendly grin looked suddenly menacing as it widened it's legs, making itself look even stronger.

"What's it saying?" Chris asked, rapidly looking back and forth between everyone, hands out in a gesture of confusion.

"He's _taunting_ us," Leo answered, his voice lower than usual.

"And your trainer doesn't even know a bulbasaur from the backside of a totodile!"

He decided to translate that directly for Chris's "benefit", finding him quickly clenching his jaw.

"Luxray!" the Pokémon's trainer screamed. "No insulting other trainers! Bad manners!"

"And I'll bet the two of you only evolved by _accident!_" the luxray went right on, barely missing a beat.

That was it! He'd heard taunts before, but this luxray was practiced by the sound of it. _Well_ practiced.

"He's going _down_," Blaze snarled just before leaping in the space between them.

Leo quickly followed, as there was no way he was going to let an insult like _that_ go unpunished! For over a year they were held back from evolving, and had to work damned hard, working their tail and fins off to finally do it, waiting well past when any other chimchar and mudkip would of had to!

"Leo!" Chris yelled. "This is a one-on-one match! Come back! Blaze will battle him!"

He fought his anger in deciding whether to do as Chris was asking, or to just pummel the blue-haired Pokémon with Blaze.

Turning slightly, "Don't worry Leo, I'll beat him enough for both of us!" Blaze reassured with his own teeth bared, an angry fire practically burning in his eyes.

Nodding, he reluctantly backed up to stand beside Chris.

"Blaze, flamethrower now!" Chris yelled.

Blaze didn't need to be asked twice as intense flames hotter than a cook fire shot out from the fire glands in his mouth and directly toward the luxray. The cat-like Pokémon leapt out of the way, but Blaze had evidently anticipated that, quickly turning to follow the large Pokémon around the field. If the flames could have kept up with his head movements, the luxray would have been quite well-done. As it was, after the flames subsided it's tail was smoking.

The other trainer wasted no time in counterattacking: "Luxray! Tackle and crunch!"

The luxray leapt into action…straight toward Blaze and nearly connecting in one leapt if the infernape hadn't made a leapt of his own! A low growl erupted from the cat-like Pokémon, it's eyes becoming a brilliant yellow.

"Rage," Chris mumbled. Then: "Blaze…"

Before he could get a command off, the luxray leapt again without warning, forcing Blaze to leapt straight up. Snapping it's head around, the blue-haired Pokémon nearly bit Blaze's leg but for a counter fist to the head. The luxray fell with Blaze, the former's back claws still getting part of the infernape's leg on the way down.

Leo grimaced.

"Good punch!" Chris encouraged. "Now, another flamethrower!"

His partner did his best, but the luxray was proving very quick on the ground and Blaze's second flamethrower in such quick succession was weaker. And when it went out…the luxray charged! Blaze went flying backward, landing almost on top of Chris.

To his credit, Chris tried to get a hand on him, but Leo rushed to help break his fall more. The first thing he noticed was his partner was already sweating pretty good.

"He's good," Blaze mumbled. "But I'm far from done!"

"Luxray, _no!_ Not at the trainer!"

Whipping his head around, Leo saw the mane of the Luxray literally crackling with it's buildup of electrical charge and thought for sure the Pokémon was about to let lose. Instead, he aborted his attack and returned to his side of the walking path next to his own trainer.

Blaze growled, stepping back in front.

"OK, Blaze," Chris nearly whispered. "Let him attack first and wait for my instruction."

The infernape gave no sign of acknowledgement except for a hard, angry whip of his tail.

Leo knew how hard this was for him. He desperately wanted to go charging in and feint something, then when the opponent charged, clobber him with a combination flamethrower and punch – his best attack that usually knocked out weaker opponents. Too bad it hadn't worked in battling the machoke the other day.

"Thunderbolt!" the kid shouted.

"Dodge it!" Chris countered.

Blaze left the ground immediately as the thunderbolt the luxray had been holding flashed blindingly from his static-charged mane. Directed by his ears, it crossed the distance in an instant to strike the ground right below where Blaze had been a fraction of a second before. The strike was close enough that Leo felt the charge through the ground, producing a prickling sensation.

And before anyone could catch their breath, the luxray came with a roar, not waiting for his trainer's next command, running toward where Blaze landed before leaping himself, teeth and claws bared and mane still crackling with charge.

"Blaze, get on his back!"

Leo wasn't sure if his partner had already been thinking the same thing or not so quickly he leapt up. Catching the blue beast in mid-air, Blaze wrapped his arm around it's neck and with him on top, the luxray hit the ground hard. Leo tensed his hands into fists, almost feeling the weight on his partner as the luxray nearly rolled onto him, causing the release of the remaining charge from his mane. Blaze hung on despite the electrocution of both of them, giving one hard punch after another into the luxray's side.

"Luxray! Shake it off!"

Blaze appeared to maintain a death-grip around the other Pokémon's neck and being the heavier of the two, couldn't be shaken off easily. The fight was soon over as the luxray finally collapsed under Blaze's weight and from the constant pounding.

"Don't _ever_ insult our evolution!" Blaze screamed at the fallen Pokémon laying at his feet before limping back.

"Luxray, you fought bravely," the Pokémon's trainer said before pointing the Pokéball and absorbing him into it with the red beam. "We'll be stronger next time." But instead of going away, the boy came over…right to Leo. "Mister, good battle! And how can your Pokémon talk?"

"Why can _you_ talk?" Leo countered, ready to fight if the kid released another Pokémon.

"Because he can," Chris answered the boy.

Leo didn't feel done with the child, though. "By the way, your Luxray is pretty good in taunting, but tell him insulting another Pokémon's evolution is going too far…especially _ours_!" finishing by pointing to himself and Blaze.

"You tell him!" Blaze said, still breathing hard and nearly dripping with sweat as he almost collapsed to the ground between him and Chris.

Leo offered a hand, but his partner refused it, instead settling to the ground.

The boy started going a little red in the face. "Uh…if that's what he did, then I'm sorry for that. I'll talk to him. But you are so _cool!_ The only Pokémon I've heard of who can communicate in human speech do so by telepathy. But you actually _speak_ it! I've never heard of that before!"

"Yeah, he's rather…unique," Chris replied. Then: "Well, we have to get going. Thanks for the battle; good luck."

"Uh, OK. Hey, if you ever want to trade this swampert, I'll be glad to take him! Talking is…"

Leo felt his eyes narrow. "Hey, _I_ make the decision on where I go! I'm not a piece of property, and neither is my friend!"

The kid nearly tripped in jumping back. "Sorry!"

And then he got a truly wicked thought: "Maybe, I should take _you_ with us. It would be nice to have someone carry my stuff for me, and maybe even _battle_ for me. Yes, you just might be useful to me. Who can I talk to about trading something for this human?" directing the question to Chris as the kid's face grew a horrified look.

"His parents, I think," Chris replied with a slight grin, but otherwise keeping a straight face. "What's your name, kid?" as he played along quite well.

Yes, it was nasty. But the idea that he was something that was "owned" and could be traded around like any other possession really irked him! And it worked as the kid went running off with a scream.

Blaze waited until he was out of sight before laughing. "That was good! Ha ha he!"

Chris was snickering too. "Leo, not only can you talk, but you can be nasty funny about it."

"If he wants to treat me as a possession, then I can do the same." Although he meant it in all seriousness, he couldn't keep himself from laughing either - the look on the kid's face was great… And he ran pretty good too.

After they had their laugh, he plucked a berry out of his sack, which Blaze took and starting eating without question.

"What's that?" Chris asked in kneeling beside Blaze.

"Oran berry," Leo answered. "They help restore strength. Also taste good in pies."

"Huh."

"They are found…here, aren't they?" He almost asked _on this world… _

"Um…I guess so. I've heard of them, but never seen any. But then I never went looking, either." Holding out his hands near Blaze's leg, "Let's see it."

Blaze let him take a close look where the luxray had got his claws into him. There were deep scratches, deep enough to make the red hair on his upper leg matted with a fair amount like-colored blood. Chris quickly unstrapped the pack from his back and started rummaging in it.

"How does it feel?" Leo asked.

"Hurts," his friend replied, fatigue now heavy in his voice. "But we've both had far worse." He grinned.

He was reaching for another Oran berry when Chris appeared to find what he was looking for in pulling out a small tube of something, before setting it down to wet a cloth with some of his canteen water.

"First I'll clean the blood off, then I'll put some of this on it," the blonde-haired human explained, pointing to the tube. "It'll help your wound heal faster."

Leo looked on suspiciously as first Chris gently cleaned the area around Blaze's wound, then uncapped the tube to squeeze out some tan-colored gooey-looking paste onto his fingertips, before very carefully spreading it across the claw-made gouges.

"Ah! That feels cold!" Blaze commented, only just keeping his hand away from his leg.

Chris seemed to look up for a translation.

"He says it's cold."

Nodding, "Then it's working," Chris replied. "You'll be good as new soon, at the rate you guys heal."

"He's not a bad human."

"Nope," Leo replied in Poke speech to his partner.

* * *

"Sure you don't want to go into a Pokéball?" Chris asked for what seemed like the tenth time, though it was probably only the third. "You'll be more rested for the next battle and your leg will probably heal faster too."

Blaze replied and Leo translated, though it was the same answer as before, "He says if we're walking, he's walking. We're used to walking wherever we have to go."

The human sighed. "Well…OK. And you know, I'd make the same offer to you Leo, but I still don't know why Pokéball's don't work on you. I suppose I could try a third one on you…"

"No," he replied flatly. He just couldn't see being stuck in such a small thing. How that was possible he still didn't know, though Blaze's theory about having something to do with dimensions seemed better than anything else he could think of. Which, perhaps, also explained why he couldn't be put in one, given the second distortion Dialga said he had around him. After another while, he noticed Chris glancing upward and shielding his eyes from the noon-time sun.

"Let's stop here; looks to be about noon and I don't know about you two, but I'm starving."

Leo knew he was, and after exchanging a knowing glace with Blaze, "So are we." So much so, he had been having thoughts of rummaging through his satchel for some of the berries and apples it held.

Chris choose a place off the path that was under a tree, semi-isolated from others in the middle of a grassy field. It was a nice spot, with a gentle breeze keeping things cool in the shade. Taking the Pokéballs off his belt one after the other, the human released all the other Pokémon: Wartortle, Pikachu, Elekid, and Electabuzz. Most of them he and Blaze hadn't seen since that evening a couple nights ago when they all attacked.

After quickly apologizing about not letting them out earlier, Chris soon had bowls of Pokéfood for everyone.

Leo sniffed at his.

"It smells like it did yesterday," Blaze commented, settling down beside him in the shade of the tree and just on the other side of Electabuzz.

Waiting until after his partner tried a bite before starting his own consumption, "Not bad, but I liked the hot dogs better." The small, semi-moist brown pieces really were a weird mixture of flavors, being somewhat reminiscent of the hotdogs, but spicier with a surprising amount of sweetness. He was certain the combination wasn't natural.

"It's good for you," Electabuzz said, before really digging into his portion.

Since the yellow and black Pokémon seemed in a talkative mood: "What was that code you mentioned to us a couple days ago?" At once, he wished he would have given more of a greeting as Electabuzz only stared back with a scowl, still chomping away. "You said when a Pokémon is captured, he has a duty to help that human then."

"It's an unspoken code among us," he replied after swallowing. "Humans that are trainers and Pokémon share the same goal: to better themselves and become stronger. It's mutually beneficial. If a human and his team is strong enough to capture you, that is a sign of a team you want to be part of, since they have the ability to make you stronger."

It a way it made sense, he supposed.

"So why can't you go in a Pokéball?" Electabuzz went on to ask before stuffing another mouthful, the question getting the attention of all the other Pokémon. With a full mouth: "And why won't you tell Chris where you're from?"

"How do you know that?" Blaze nearly coughed out. "You've been inside that thing till now!"

"You can still hear sometimes from inside one. You must've been sleeping in yours, otherwise you'd know that."

"Guess I was," Blaze admitted, then folding his arms: "Something about being slammed against a tree, soaked and then electrocuted can tend to make one tired."

"Your friend has a good water pulse attack too," Electabuzz returned. "Left a bruise. But he hasn't answered my question." Facing Leo again: "Why can't you go inside a Pokéball? They always work, unless one is strong enough to escape, but that only happens _after_ you're already inside of it."

"Yeah, why can't you?" Wartortle echoed.

All eyes were on him, Leo realized. Grimacing, "It's…complicated, and I'm not entirely sure anyway. But it's best if it remains unexplained for now."

Electabuzz huffed before another mouthful.

"Best how?" Elekid asked, pausing in his own eating.

He felt of two minds: if these other Pokémon could be trusted, they might be able to help. On the other hand, he hadn't even told Chris yet the reason they were here out of the same issue of trust. But he was seeing less and less reason for not trusting him. Or was the real reason…he was afraid he wouldn't be believed?

"It's something we can't talk about for now," Blaze answered for him after another moment.

"Huh, a secret," Electabuzz said with an air of uncertainty. "Well, it's your secret then…so long as it doesn't hurt the rest of us." The yellow and black electric Pokémon finished with a tone like 'it had better not.'

"Awww…" the other Pokémon expressed more or less together.

* * *

Leo Hanson rested his elbow on the table and took a sip of tea from the white china cup, savoring the flavor. He didn't often frequent cafes, but with the need to kill time and fill his stomach, it was a convenient option. Grovyle didn't seem to mind either, judging how he was downing the croissants off the plate positioned between them. Leo grabbed the last one just to make sure he got one before ordering a bowl of noodles for each of them.

"Well, lunch time," he said in a low voice so that others around in the increasingly busy place wouldn't hear. "If they're still moving at all, we should know soon I would think."

"Gr_oo_vyle."

Just from having Grovyle as his partner for so long, he knew the high inflection in the middle meant agreement. "Of course, we're assuming this Pokémon is what we're tracking, but I guess it really doesn't matter, since we _can_ track whoever it is. But I need to recognize him when I see him. Heck, we don't even know if that swampert is still with this trainer or not."

Grovyle stared back with his large green eyes, though cocked his head in clear interest.

"Just hope all this running around is going to be worth it. If we can get a clue to what this dimensional anomaly I have is all about, then it will be."

The bowls of noodles arrived and as they were in the middle of slurping them down, the cell trilled as if on cue.

"He's definitely still moving towards us here and slowly," Sally's voice said. "Must be walking. If he is coming here, he won't be arriving till sometime around tomorrow afternoon or evening, if I had to guess. But there are a couple other paths he could take to other cities, too."

"Alright. We'll come back to the lab then as soon as we finish lunch here."

"Don't you want to try and find them on the trail?"

He had already planned how he would handle this situation, having had much of the morning to think about it. "I'm not prepared for hiking and I can't leave the car on the side of the road, either. If he's coming to Pinnacle Valley, I'll just camp out at that end of the hiking trail starting tomorrow afternoon and catch him when he arrives."

"Hm, right. If he does go to one of the other towns, the DV detector will let us know. Although…Professor Werner reiterated this morning he's very anxious to meet this Pokémon as soon as possible." In the tone of someone doing him a favor, "But…don't worry, I'll just tell him it's not possible before tomorrow evening."

"Thanks, Sally. I'll see you guys later then."

He still didn't understand what the hurry was. Granted, he wanted to meet this Pokémon as soon as possible too, but it just didn't strike him as being anything _that_ urgent. Once again, he had the feeling the Professor wasn't telling him everything, and as he was driving back he started to wonder: did the Professor maybe suspect having two of these distortions around at the same time was dangerous? Perhaps the chances of something "bad" happening were increasing the longer the two distortions existed.

If that was true…

He told his partner about his theory, finishing with "Maybe that's why he told me to be careful, but yet didn't want to alarm me." Though as soon as he said it, he saw the fallacy in his reasoning. "No, if he thought there was _that_ kind of danger, he surely would warn me about it. Unless…there was nothing I could do about it. But then why even tell me to be careful?"

"Grovyle?"

"Yeah, my logic isn't too good on that," though he really didn't know if Grovyle followed him or not. Sometimes what he wouldn't give to actually understand him, though it still helped just to talk to someone.

Grovyle followed him into the research building, passing the Professor's door on the way. He decided not to disturb him, partly out of fear that the Professor _would_ tell him just what he had been thinking.

The rest of the team was in the large lab, though only Sally was on the control balcony, with George, Ticonamo and Naomi in the ring room working on construction. "I see everyone's busy today," he noted in walking by her on the way to his own desk, mostly since she hardly gave him a glance up from her console and her typing.

"Oh, hi you two. Sorry, the Professor wanted us to make a big push to get ready for testing by Friday."

The revelation hit him as he was sitting down, Grovyle grabbing his own seat to watch. "_Friday?_ I thought we weren't going to start until middle of next week at the very earliest." Tapping a few keys, he logged himself in to get his programming environment going.

"He's moved it up, just this morning. In fact, since you're here, if you could start looking at the 'C' module of the waveform generator subroutine, the complier is still throwing off some errors."

"Ah…sure, but I'm still working on the one for…"

"The Professor finished that for you, he said. It should be good to go."

At the moment she said that, the code for the module he had been working on for the last couple weeks came up, and sure enough, it _was_ different. In fact… "Hey, this isn't even my code! What the…"

Sally finally faced him: "I think he simply rewrote the entire thing and replaced yours. It does appear to work. I guess he can still write better code than you." With a wink, she went back to what she was doing.

Leo only stared at the screen for a couple moments. Sure, programming wasn't his real area of expertise, but…

"_Gro_vyle."

He couldn't agree with his friend more. "Well…this bites." It wasn't just the fact it meant two wasted weeks, but that the Professor did it without even asking. Irked, he quickly scanned the code to see just how it solved the problem that had been causing him grief, and one thing soon became apparent. "This module doesn't really do anything. It only does some error checking before passing values to a subroutine called 'Modulus 93'. What the heck is that? I thought I knew all the parts to this program."

"Um…must be something the Professor put in," Sally answered, distracted. "That 'C' module could really use your attention."

"Yeah, just hold on." Curious, he searched for the mystery subroutine and found it. It was definitely sizable, very sizable…and inaccessible. "No permission? Sally, what is this?" As one of the programmers, he was supposed to have access to everything!

"What?"

Having finally seemed to get her attention, the pointed end of his green friend's snout appeared by his side to stare at the screen for apparently his own look. "That Modulus 93 subroutine, I don't seem to have permission to open it."

Furrowing her brow, the red head quickly tapped on her keyboard, the screen showing a search for the code. After a moment: "Neither can I. That's…odd. Did the Professor write that? Maybe he forgot to add permissions."

Dialing his phone, he intended to ask the Professor right then and there, but there was no answer. "I thought he was in."

After glancing at her watch, "Oh, that's right. He mentioned something about a meeting this afternoon. He'll be out for the rest of the day. And…that reminds me, we're going to have a visit tomorrow morning by representatives from Derganio."

Leo could only shake his head in disbelief. "_Tomorrow_, just as he wants us to hurry up and finish everything ahead of schedule?"

Shrugging, "Don't yell at me; I'm just the messenger."

"Sorry."

A loud bang came from the ring room below to reverberate off the walls, followed by a nice string of swearing.

He closed his eyes for a moment in a futile attempt to get some sanity back before facing Grovyle: "Welcome to the nuthouse, buddy."

Grovyle shook his head, sighing.

* * *

"Water pulse!"

Nearly exhausted from the long nearly-even match, Leo wasn't so sure of Chris's command. A water attack against another water type like the prinplup he was facing wasn't going to do a whole lot. In fact, he wasn't too sure of this entire match, the light already fading when it started late in the evening. Even Chris didn't sound sure in accepting the challenge from the younger human female, but eventually agreed and wanted him to fight it.

Well, considering the trouble he had yesterday, maybe getting as much practice in this world as possible even at night wasn't a bad idea. With only the slightest hesitation, he decided to follow through and hit the prinplup with as hard a water pulse as he could still muster.

The prinplup tried dodging, but the speed at which he shot out the thin wall of water clearly surprised it, and the penguin-like Pokémon quickly ended up on it's back. "Leo, jump on top and attack!"

Chris's strategy immediately become clear as he now wasted no time in executing. After a short run and leap, he was on top of the prinplup and giving it his best punches. With her appearing as exhausted as he was from the long battle, her trainer quickly surrendered under the barrage.

For that, he was thankful! He struggled in climbing off his opponent, nearly falling with about the only thing he was hearing was his own heart pounding from all the exertion. It was still hard to believe how much tougher opponents were in this human world. If they were in the Poke world, he would have been able to dispatch any prinplup with little difficulty! But like the aipom from yesterday, the human commanding her knew what to do, and the prinplup performed superbly.

"Great job, Leo!" Chris congratulated as he slowly dragged himself to their side of the field before simply collapsing on his stomach once he got there, doing everything he could to get enough air. He couldn't remember the last time he felt so wiped out from a battle without actually losing!

The woman thanked them for the match before leaving in a hurry to get to a place where she could set up her own camp further down the road. Despite Chris's offer, she wasn't interesting in spending the night with them. He seemed slightly disappointed.

Taking Blaze's offered hand, he forced himself back up and together they moved the extra distance to the campfire Chris had going. Not that he needed the heat, but the grass was matted around it and that's where their beds were.

"Not too bad," Electabuzz commented after Leo collapsed for the second time, this time on his bed. The other Pokémon mirrored the comment. "Took a while, though," the large electric-type Pokémon continued. "If that was a gym battle, you'd now be too wiped out for the second match and Chris wouldn't be able to use you. Almost as bad as losing."

"Stuff it!" Blaze shouted back, pulling out a oran berry from his pack and practically forcing it into his hand along with a bottle of water in the other.

Leo started nibbling at the berry and within seconds, was feeling the effect of the mild energy it supplied.

"Just pointing out what would happen," Electabuzz replied without emotion as he laid down and rolled over on his own bed.

"He's right," he quietly admitted to Blaze between breaths, urging him to sit down also instead of staring at Electabuzz. "Battles here are tougher than we're used to." Cracking the cap on the large water bottle, he starting guzzling it; using water attacks always left him so thirsty.

His friend gave a resigned sigh before settling down himself. "We'll get tougher. We did it before."

"We will," Leo echoed, feeling confident in at least that. Despite the oran berry, he still felt nearly drained and as soon as his breathing, heart rate and thirst were under control, fell asleep. Though he wasn't sure for how long before being woken, or rather shaken, awake. "Huh? What?" He peered into the darkness of the night, barely making out his partner's infernape face beside him.

"We have company," Blaze whispered back.

"Electabuzz, shock 'em!"

"What's going…" Before he could finish, Electabuzz carried out Chris's command by sending out a blinding bolt of electricity nearby to some point also not far away, with the thunderbolt's crackling report immediate. Someone screamed…and the rustling of tall grass told of that someone running off into the night. Actually, two someone's by all the noise they made.

He finally rose up, not able to make anything out after the thunderbolt's flash left his night-vision temporarily blinded. "What happened?"

"Good work, Electabuzz," Chris said. Then with a little anger: "They better not come around again."

"Two strange looking humans were in camp," Blaze answered excitedly.

"They were snooping around here," Wartortle said from right behind.

"Two humans?" Leo asked. "What did they want?"

"Don't know," Blaze replied as he seemed to start pacing.

"One was holding something that looked kinda like a Pokédex," Wartortle went on, "but it was different. Bigger. They were also wearing goggles."

When Leo heard Chris get close enough: "Chris, what did they want?"

"Don't know, but I think they were wearing night-vision goggles and doing something that looked like scanning. Well, if they were trying to steal something, they sure didn't get anything but a few knocks and some electrocution. Good job everyone in being alert. But let's continue to stay vigilant for the rest of the night, just in case."

"Unlike someone," Electabuzz commented.

Although he couldn't quite see yet, Leo was sure it was directed at him.

"Hey, why don't you try staying awake at night just after you've had a long battle!" Blaze defended.

Electabuzz hissed and settled down somewhere.

"Never mind him," Wartortle said. "He just takes a while to get to know. Especially since he evolved."

"He's really a good Pokémon when you get to know him," Pikachu seconded from somewhere on the other side of him. "You're still tired. You should go back to sleep. You too, Blaze; you have that injured leg."

"Nice to hear we're among _some_ friends," Leo commented before collapsing for the third time that night, although his elevated heart rate from the excitement prevented immediate sleep. Doing something that looked like scanning…? Didn't sound like something mere thieves would be doing, if all they were after were a few items. But then what did he know about the ways of human thieves?

At first he thought his night vision was suddenly getting a lot better, but realized it was Chris relighting the fire. As he calmed and slowly fell back into weary slumber, he watched the human sitting up, with an occasional considering stare toward him…

* * *

Leo Hanson scrambled to get to the lab on time. It had been a late night finishing the code, and he barely had enough sleep before having to get up again. In fact, he would've slept through the alarm if it hadn't been for Grovyle coming in and rustling him up. His green friend even had the foresight to have a quick bowl of cereal ready for them. For once, he was glad he didn't put him in his Pokéball for the night, but it really was out of fatigue that he had forgot to do so.

Likewise, he decided to bring him on the subway as is, which meant finding enough room so that the razor leaves on the back of his wrists didn't accidently poke anyone. Fortunately, people were understanding, with most people having been around Pokémon all their lives. It also helped that Grovyle wasn't all that large, being only about the size of a young teen.

Despite his earlier-than-usual start, he found himself the last one into the lab. George, Ticonamo and Naomi were still working in the ring room installing and checking out modules, with Sally "up top".

"Here early, I see," the red head greeted as he got up to the control balcony.

"Figured I should be here for the 'festivities'," as he decided to refer to the upcoming visit. Although no one had explicitly stated as such, he knew enough that any visit from Derganio was important in one respect or another. It was just a matter of what they were looking for. "Got to leave by noon to start staking the out path, though. Is our friend still on his way?"

"Yep," Sally replied. "Looks like they'll be arriving afternoon or evening still."

"Good." At least something was still going according to plan. Grabbing a handful of chocolate candies for some quick energy and urge satisfaction, he offered some to Grovyle who took a couple, before getting right to work on debugging the next program module and losing track of time until Sally got his attention.

"They're here!"

Together, he and Sally went down to the main floor to gather with the rest of the team, Grovyle staying on the balcony. They only had to wait a few seconds before Professor Werner came through the double doors, leading two suits.

"Just like the last time," Leo thought as the Professor went down the line, introducing each team member to "Robert Connley and Terrace Forley" in turn. Last in line, Leo finished by shaking each of their hands, noting what looked like old scars on Terrace's.

The Professor didn't miss a beat, quickly continuing after the introductions: "As I think I said to all of you before, Derganio is very interested in this project, and as part of that, Robert and Terrace were asked to…"

Leo shook his head…blinking rapidly as his vision started blurring. Something wasn't right; he was getting faint, and fast. _Oh, not again…_


	6. Chapter 6: Glimpse

**Chapter 6: Glimpse**

Leo liked mornings, especially the dew with sunlight glistening off it. This morning, the sky was cloudless and the tall grass they were wading through to get back to the path was virtually dripping. It felt refreshing on his smooth blue and white skin, being a while since it had experienced so much moisture. Breathing in the heavy, moisture-laden and earth-scented air, he savored it.

In a better than usual mood, he leapt out of the grass and onto the trail ahead of either Chris or Blaze.

"I guess you're feeling rested," Chris observed. "Glad you got enough sleep." The circles around his own eyes told of a different story for him. "Oh, that's right, I was going to check your leg, Blaze."

Stopping on the trail, Blaze let him have a quick look at his now dew-soaked leg.

Having already asked his friend about it, Leo knew that it was well along to being healed.

"It looks really good," Chris confirmed after a moment. "Should be good as new by tomorrow, maybe."

"That stuff he put on it is really helping I think," Blaze commented. He did a hop of his own, coming down very much normally. "Feels good, too."

"Take it easy, Blaze," Chris warned. "Let it finish healing first."

Blaze rolled his eyes. "He sure is acting like a parent."

"Might have to start calling him 'Daddy'," Leo returned, purposely replying in human-speak and bringing out a laugh from Blaze.

Chris only smiled weakly.

"Something's on your mind," he finally said to the human after they walked a good distance. And he was certain he knew what it was.

"I'll bet it was those humans last night," Blaze said.

"What do you think they were really doing?" Leo asked Chris, certain his friend was correct.

"Good guess," Chris replied. After a sigh, "I don't know. The entire thing was strange. They looked like they were looking for something in particular, and that device they had, they were moving it around like this…" Pretending he was holding something, he moved his hands around in a slow arc back and forth. "…like they were scanning. And wearing night-vision goggles, they were definitely prepared for the night. I'm thinking I might have to report this to the police when we get into town. I'd sure like to know what they were looking for." He finished by returning a longer-than-comfortable glance.

It was a passing thought Leo had himself. Could they possibly have been looking for _him_? Surely, he was really the only unusual 'thing' in the group, or more exactly, the small distortion…or distortions around him, Blaze only sharing one of them. It was either that, or that fact he could speak human speak, which had already been pointed out more than once that it could be considered a very valuable ability to many people.

"Hey!"

He stopped with Blaze and Chris as a young, long blonde-haired woman came running up from behind them, wearing a rather flashy black leather-like jacket and pants. "A swampert and an infernape? You must be a good trainer, then. Or just lucky. Care for a match? I could use some practice before taking on the gym leader in Jade River." Crossing her arms, she waited for an answer.

Looking to Leo, "You feel up for another one?" Chris asked.

"Practice makes perfect," he replied, entirely forgetting he was still speaking in human until Chris grimaced.

Wide-eyed, the woman gasped in backing up. "It talks!"

"Name's Leo; let's get this match going," deciding to cut off the discussion right then and there by moving off the path, heading for a line of trees standing amid some shorter grass that looked to make a good field boarder.

"Nice way to leave her speechless," Chris whispered as he followed with Blaze.

Indeed, they were almost to the trees before she started moving. "Uh…right," she finally said, hurrying to position herself a short distance away and opposite them. "But I want to talk to him after we're done! Alright?"

Chris barely nodded, but it seemed enough for the woman.

"Graveler, go!" Taking a Pokéball off her belt and holding it out, the said Pokémon appeared in front of her at the end of a red beam.

"Hmm, a graveler," Chris said thoughtfully from behind Leo. "Your water attack is going to be very effective, Leo. This should be easy."

"I've heard that before," Leo replied. The aipom from a couple days ago was supposed to be 'easy' too, as was the prinplup.

"But it does weigh more than you, so we'll be careful and not let it get too close. She has to have some reason for using it against you, knowing it's weak against water."

"A trap, maybe?" Blaze asked.

Nodding, Leo was thinking the same thing. Surely a couple water pulses should do it, but the other trainer must also know that, considering the level of skill he'd witnessed with human trainers so far…

"Graveler, roll! You know what to do!"

The grey, rock-clad Pokémon tucked it's arms about himself, dropping to the ground after doing the same with his feet; with seemingly little effort, he started rolling his rough, round self forward, but also to the side.

"Leo, when it gets close, nail it with a water pulse."

Exactly what his own instinct wanted to do. Leo waited the few seconds it took the graveler to get close, then let loose…right as the graveler astonishingly sped up, just dodging his attack! And right after, it changed it's course to come straight for him!

Leo didn't wait for instruction before shooting out another water pulse, only this time the other Pokémon sprang it's arms and legs out, leaping into the air in an instant, while the thin wall of water passed harmlessly underneath!

"Ah!" Chris exclaimed as Blaze yelled "Look out!"

Before he could react, the graveler was standing right before him!

Arms now out, the Pokémon was about to hit him, but Leo locked hands with him and for several seconds pushed as hard as he could against the graveler while it was pushing right back. Neither of them was moving the other… Their strength was even!

"Water pulse again!" Chris yelled.

And at this range, with the graveler's hands locked with his, he couldn't miss! He quickly got the water in his mouth ready in anticipation when the graveler unexpectedly shook a hand free. Shoving the rough-edged appendage into his face, it blocked his mouth and forced his head up and back sharply as water leaked from his mouth. But now with a free hand, he slugged the rock Pokémon in the side…to do nothing more then shove his opponent back a few feet and breaking their contact.

"Rock shards!" the woman trainer shouted.

Before his eyes, the graveler shook violently as shards of rock started breaking off it's shell to go flying.

Having seen the attack before, he was already on his way to the ground as the shards passed barely overhead, though a few sharp pains in his rear fin told of several hitting there.

"Roll!"

Leo didn't need to see to know what was about to happen. With a leap, he was back up and running; although he didn't like running on all fours, he needed distance and fast, lest he'd get run right over! The sound of crumpling grass and a quick breeze behind him told of just how close that came to happening, too. Finally, he stopped before one of the trees to turn around to look.

If the graveler insisted on coming for him now, he could leapt out of way and let him roll right into it. Probably wouldn't hurt a graveler much, but would stop it for a few seconds, giving him the time to focus his power into a combined fist, and hopefully cracking it's shell of rock before following up with a water pulse. Unless Chris had something else in mind.

After waiting as the graveler finished it's turn around before heading straight for him again, he tensed his legs to leap. Yet…his strength suddenly wasn't there. He started feeling dizzy…faint. _What? No…not now!_

He grabbed the tree for support...

* * *

"Leo!"

"Hey, you alright?"

"Get him to the chair, hurry!"

"Grovyle!"

Leo Hanson let himself be lead to a chair to be sat down and his head shoved between his legs as he regained his senses. He saw Sally's face before him.

"Leo, we'll get an ambulance here."

"Wha…no, I'm alright now." To prove it, he sat up, giving his head a shake, though his heart was pounding.

"You nearly fainted, just like before," George said, alarm still in his voice.

"No…I'm fine. Really!" Standing up, he fought off the nearby hands ready to help steady him. "No ambulance. I'm OK. I just need some air. Sorry everyone." With still shaking legs, he hurried out of the lab and to the restroom, Grovyle following, knowing he left some puzzled people behind.

Hovering over the sink, he stared into the mirror, noticing just how pale his face was. He wasn't so certain it was from fainting rather than what he saw…what he _felt_ in his vision. Quite plainly, it scared him to death!

* * *

There was a crack somewhere.

"Leo!"

"Graveler, abort!"

Leo found himself coming to on the ground, heart pounding and his left forearm pinned up and behind him between the tree and the balled-up graveler. In fact, his arm was pinned perfectly between the tree and the point of the graveler's roundish body.

The graveler shoved out it's arms and legs to stand up. Then it became plain what the crack had been as his arm fell to the ground, with nearly unbearable pain hitting instantly. There was no stifling the load moan he let out as he started shaking.

"You…hurt bad," the graveler said, looking down with a puzzled and concerned expression.

"Leo!" Blaze was there before anyone else.

The pain in his arm was getting bad quickly enough that he hardly comprehended much of what was said right away. He remembered Chris, Blaze and the woman trainer all staring down at him, Blaze going nearly frantic.

"…broken."

"Don't move it! Hold…still!"

"Keep him…"

"Graveler…cloth!"

"…going to…some…branches…"

"…to doctor…"

He knew he was hyperventilating, making his stomach turn inside out as his arm was approaching pure agony. He dared not even try and move it, instead grabbing dirt with his good hand and with all his strength making a fist to try and take his mind off the pain. Water came leaking out of his skin, making the dirt into mud.

Blaze's hands were soon on his back, rubbing around and between his shoulders and neck, trying to keep him calm. "Chris is going to make a splint, we'll get it wrapped and you to some help right away."

"You poor thing, I'm sorry!" the woman said. "We've never had this happen before!"

Over the following minutes, he finally felt himself calming down, thanks to both Blaze's massaging and his pain level finally leveling off somewhere between unbearable and intolerable. "It wasn't your fault," he finally was able to say through clenched teeth to the female human. "Accident."

She returned a nervous smile. "Don't worry, your trainer seems to know what he's doing. He'll get you to a Pokécenter very soon."

Chris was quickly back. Leo only saw a glimpse of some large, short sticks as they quickly disappeared on the side of him. He tried to turn his head to look, but Chris told Blaze to hold him still. Cloth was ripped, and he felt the sensation of wood gently surrounding his forearm. "Leo, this is going to hurt a little as we put the splint on. Blaze, don't let him move!"

"It _already_ hurts, more than little…" he said, right before an unbelievably sharp pain shot through his arm. "Ah!" The woman grimaced, quickly putting her hands on either side of his head and rubbing him near his gills and also keeping his head from moving. "He's just making sure it's straight."

Mercifully, the sharp pain was short lived and he felt cloth slowly being slowly wrapped and tightened around his arm.

"So this is what a broken bone feels like. Always wondered about it," he said in a weak attempt at humor.

"You Pokémon are so tough, it very rarely happens," the woman replied. "In fact, I can't remember _ever_ hearing of it happening. Not like us humans, though. I mean, we break bones right and left."

"Yeah, exactly," Chris added. "When I was nine, I broke my arm when I fell off my bike. Broke it far worse then what it looks like you have. And I have a friend who had a car accident…_twenty-nine_ broken bones."

The woman grimaced again. "_Twenty-nine?_"

Blaze echoed the same question with astonishment in his voice.

Leo felt another sharp pain as his arm was lifted slightly to get more cloth underneath, making him flinch.

"Sorry, almost done. Yeah, he was in the hospital for four months. A hip, most of one leg, both arms and a few ribs. Several of them with breaks in multiple places."

"How is he now?" the woman asked.

"Fully healed. But it did take some physical therapy afterward. He's running marathons now."

"Wow."

"And then, during one of his recent events, he tripped and broke an ankle."

"Oh, no…"

"Then I had another friend who played baseball in school. Took a line-drive to his wrist…"

"That poor guy!"

"…breaking two of his bones in…"

Leo had heard enough. "Can we _please_ stop talking about breaking bones?"

"Ah…oh, sorry!"

He felt a tightening of the cloth, then: "There, done. OK, let's get you to the road and try to flag someone down who will drop us off at the Pokécenter. I don't think we're going to try walking the rest of the way. Are you ready to try and stand?"

Putting his unbroken arm under him, Leo started getting himself up while trying his best to minimize moving the broken one. Plenty of hands surrounded him to help get him standing, the shift in position of his left arm also providing plenty of extra pain. Chris soon had a sling between his arm and neck to help hold it still.

Fortunately, the walking path and road weren't but a few minutes walk apart through some tall grass and several lines of trees, and Chris was soon waving down a van whose driver took pity on their situation.

"OK, take care you three," the woman trainer said as they parted. "Hopefully we can battle again without anyone getting hurt like this."

Leo heard her and Chris exchange names before the doors were closed. With his large back fin, he could only sit on his side in the back with the seats down, Blaze helping to keep the bumps in the road from moving him too much by wrapping an arm around his upper torso.

"Blaze?" he finally said after one bad bump that forced his friend to just about crush him to keep him from being jostled too badly. "You need a bath."

"Ha ha! Leo, so do you."

He had to grin…though the next bump forced it into a grimace. Thankfully the trip was quick and they were soon in the Pokécenter.

"I have to admit this is the first broken bone I've ever treated on a Pokémon," the nurse said while finishing the plaster case around his forearm. "What kind of battle were you fighting anyway?" directing the question behind her to Chris who was sitting on one of the counters.

"It was an accident. His arm got pinned between a rolling graveler and a tree and took the full impact at that one point."

The nurse's eyes widened before giving him a look of extreme pity. "Ouch! No wonder, you poor thing!"

He smiled, being careful not to talk, at least in human speak. The pain killer the nurse gave him was working quite well, making him feel relaxed enough that he didn't feel like engaging in any lengthy conversations anyway. Actually, he felt like sleeping. Too bad he was sitting up between two chairs brought together to accommodate his back fin, otherwise if he was laying on his stomach, he _would_ be asleep.

Shaking her hands over the bowl of plaster, the nurse finally pronounced the job complete. "Don't move your arm for a few minutes while it hardens. Let me clean up and then I'll be back to treat those fragments in your fin." Picking up the bowl of thin plaster, she left the room.

He'd forgotten…the rock shard attack must've embedded some shards in his back fin. Funny how something like a broken arm can take all your attention away from anything else that was hurting you.

Blaze hovered over his new cast. "Looks heavy. Bet it'll be as hard as rock, though. Make a good club! Maybe I should get one," his partner giving a toothy grin.

"I'd recommend not breaking an arm to do it," he replied, noticing Chris staring at him solemnly.

"Leo, I think I'm going to have a battery of tests done on you when you get a little better," the sandy-haired human finally said, moving down off the counter.

He didn't like the sound of that. "What…do you mean?"

"To get to bottom of what's wrong with you."

"We know what's wrong; my arm's broke!" Unless, he really meant…

"No, not that. I mean, that was the second time you nearly fainted. I've seen Pokémon faint before in battles, in fact it's common, but the first time you almost did was well after the battle was over, and this time…you'd hardly been touched yet. That isn't normal."

Blaze at first furrowed his forehead, then: "Leo, was it…"

He tried to tell his partner with a glance it was the Dimensional Scream without tipping off Chris that he was telling Blaze anything. "Didn't you say I was special?" hoping to throw their trainer off.

Chris bent over slightly in front of him, looking him in the eyes. "Leo, there's something wrong with you, and I'm getting worried."

For the longest moment, he instead locked eyes with Blaze, wondering what to say. Sooner or later it seemed, he would have to tell the human what was really going on, where they were from and why they were here. It was just…he didn't know if he should right now.

"You aren't…dying of old age, are you?"

Now that surprised him as well as Blaze, judging by the silly look his partner got on his face. "You, old? Wait, Dialga said you were born well before…"

"I'm a Pokémon of about three," Leo replied. It was the truth, but how old was he as a human before he was changed into a Pokémon, and did those years count? He had no idea.

Chris seemed a little more at ease after his answer. Giving a pat to his shoulder, he smiled. "Good. I'm glad it's not that. But just the same, we need to figure out why you're fainting so much. We'll wait till you heal some first, though. You've been through enough for one day."

Leo sighed, wondering what 'tests' were. Regardless, he knew they probably wouldn't figure out anything unless he told them the reason.

The nurse returned and started working on his large back fin. Blaze was watching, but it was also very obvious the question on his face. He would have to tell him the vision he saw…even though he didn't want to remember it. Now, with the memory of it creeping back to him, he started to tremble.

"Hold still, please!" the nurse said from behind him. "Just need to clean everything and get these patches on.

He struggled to stay still as his heart started racing; more and more of the vision flooded his mind and senses…and it was scaring him.

* * *

Oh God, what was that?

Leo Hanson let the cold water pour over his hands for a good moment before splashing his face.

Everything had felt so real, so…dark. And it either had happened, or will happen. Which was it? But he hadn't recognized anything or anyone in it, except, maybe… Looking back to where the lab would be through the walls; that one hand: with the scaring. Could he have been there?

There were some rapid knocks on the door, "Leo, you in there?" Sally's voice asked. "You alright?"

"Gro_vyle_! Vyler!"

"I'm…fine. Hold on." Grabbing a towel, he dried his face off before leaving the restroom where Grovyle had been waiting outside along with Sally. "You didn't call an ambulance, did you? I'm alright."

"Not yet, but I think I should really get you to the hospital."

"Look, I only needed some air, OK?" He started making his way back for the lab, but she grabbed his arm, stopping him.

"No, people just don't have fainting spells for no reason. I'm going to take you."

"Sally, they're still running the tests from last time. I don't think they're going to find anything different this time around."

By her expression, she wasn't going to take no for an answer. "Well, we'll let them decide that." Still having hold of his arm, she started tugging him down the hall and toward the front door.

"I said no! I…already know what's causing it." There, he said it. He was committed to telling her now. And from this last vision, maybe he really did now. Finally.

She stared back with her long, red-hair framed face changing from determination to one of concern as she let go of his arm. "Why didn't you say so before? I…it isn't…bad, is it?"

"I didn't say anything before because I didn't think anyone was going to believe me."

"Huh?"

Glancing to the lab doors, he decided they needed a better place to talk. "Let's go to the meeting room."

* * *

Sally was seemingly frozen for the longest moment after he finished. Finally: "That cable, that's how you knew? In a vision?"

"Gr_oo_vyle!" Grovyle of course, had known about his visions for some time.

Leo nodded. "Yeah. And every one I've seen has turned out to be one-hundred percent accurate. Normally I don't get them very often, less than once a year, but lately I've been having a _lot_ of them. You saw what happened to me when I got the last two. I don't know what's causing them, but I think these recent ones all have something to do with our project in one form or another. Two of them for sure."

"Then, what you thought you saw during Phase Two, you believe _will_ happen?"

Nodding again, "I've little doubt. Something is going to go wrong and I have no idea who all those people were I saw. But this last vision…" He shook his head, trying to get a grip on himself before he told her what his last vision showed him. "…what I saw…_felt_…I felt raw fear."

Sally didn't move.

Tightening his grip on the table, he started to pick back over what he remembered: "There was a lab, but not this one. I didn't recognize anything there, though it looked like there were maybe tall superconductor coils arranged in a circle with some masers and modulators, I'm not sure…"

"Another project?" Sally gasped.

"That'd be my guess, and I think they were succeeding, except something was coming through. As it slowly took form, I felt ice running through my veins. There was an explosion, yelling, people started running…screaming. One after another they were struck down by…some…_attack_. The coils started exploding and fires were breaking out, to the point where they surrounded me. All the while, I just feel this oppressive…_fear_." He shook his head, fully remembering the feeling. "It felt like some evil had come to Earth!"

"Rrr?"

His green friend sounded scared and he realized Sally was holding his hands, trembling slightly. Wait…he was the one that was trembling!

"Leo, I…don't know what to tell you. Except, it wasn't here, right?"

Gathering his wits back together, "No, it wasn't here. But you know, I think I do recognize one of the people I saw. The Derganio representative with the scarred hands: Terrace." Of course! The vision had to have been in the past! "His hands, that must be how he got scarred, from the fires! I thought they looked like burns!"

Keeping hold of his hands as she got up, "Then maybe we should ask him a few questions."

"You believe me?" He really hadn't been sure how everything he'd told her would go over, but if he could at least get her to believe him, maybe he wasn't so crazy after all!

"How can I _not_? I thought there was something to you finding that disconnected cable like that yesterday. Something unexplained." Raising her eyebrows, "Well, this explains it…even though it does seem a little out there. But lets talk to that guy."

The two of them were back in the lab mere seconds later, but the Derganio representatives were already gone. "They left already?" Sally asked the others who were still milling around.

"Yeah, a few minutes ago with the Professor," George answered. "Leo, how you feeling?"

"I'm OK," he replied, now angry they just missed them. "Damn." How close had he been to getting some answers? His watch beeped.

"Appointment?" George asked.

"No, just a reminder to make sure I get out to the path for our arriving distortion."

"You still going through with that?" Sally asked, a hint of worry in her voice.

Feeling his own forehead, he felt normal, physically at least. "I can handle it. It'll probably give me a few hours to unwind while waiting anyway." Actually, what he really felt like doing was curling up into a ball in some corner somewhere to hide from what he saw, but he needed to find whoever had the other distortion around him/her/it. That was priority at the moment. He had to believe there was a chance of learning some from this second distortion, maybe even some clues to his visions if there was a connection between them and his distortion.

"I can go with you, if you want." George offered.

"You need to keep working here, all of you!" Sally said with some air of authority. Then again, she was third in charge.

Taking that as their cues, George, Naomi and Ticonamo quickly got back to what they were doing before the visit.

"Quit worrying, I'm fine!" Leo repeated to help keep them from worrying, though knowing it probably wouldn't. "Grovyle will look out for me too."

Grovyle straightened up a little, giving his head leaf blade a slight flick. "Gro-_vyle_!"

"Let's confirm they're still on schedule, first."

Leo followed Sally up to the control balcony, finding her comment a little amusing. He wondered if anyone told _them_ they were on a schedule.

Bringing up the DV detector screen, she switched to the map display, where, sure enough, it showed a large red blimp right over Pinnacle Valley, which was as accurate as it got. But that's all it showed. "Huh? Where are they?"

Around the slight shimmer of the edges of his location circle, a second color was just showing. "They're…here. They're in the city already!"

"But… they were only half-way here a couple hours ago!" Sally exclaimed.

Slamming the counter with his fist in frustration, "Damn it! They had to of caught a ride or something!" Now inside the city, there was virtually no hope of finding them. The detector simply didn't have the sensitivity to track them down to anything more than within a few miles.

The morning was definitely not going well.

* * *

Leo came slowly opened his eyes on the bench in the Pokécenter. Warm late-afternoon sunlight was streaming through the large windows of the lobby, warming his skin nicely. Lying on his stomach, he moved his head enough to gaze out the windows and over the low bushes, idly watching humans and the occasional Pokémon passing by on the other side of the street while regaining full consciousness. His still drowsy eyes seemed to focus on one human on the sidewalk, dressed in dark grey clothes and sunglasses and staring straight at him, unmoving, for many moments.

Huh?

"Leo, you awake finally?"

Yawning, he turned his head to face Blaze. "Partly. That medicine is…weird."

"It sure knocked you out for a while."

"Look out the window. Do you see that human dressed in dark grey with sunglasses? He's been looking at me for a while."

Blaze looked…then looked puzzled as he cocked his head. "I don't see anyone."

Leo looked back out, finding the human gone. "Probably nothing." Feeling no energy to get up from the cushioned, cloth-covered (and warm) bench, he merely moved his head to look around the lobby. "Where's Chris?"

Seating himself on the next bench in front of him, his partner folded his legs to rest his head on his knees while letting his tail hang down the other side of the bench. "Went to challenge the gym leader here, he said. He wants to do a match tomorrow. He also said something about seeing the police and getting some room at someplace called a 'hotel'. Don't know what that means, but he said we're going to be here a few days while you're healing, so we needed someplace to stay other than at this Pokécenter."

"Oh." Like Blaze, he also didn't know what some of that meant.

"How's your arm feeling?"

Leo glanced to where it was hanging in the sling off the edge of the bench, solidly in it's new cast. "Stiff."

"Ha ha. Funny."

"So I have to wear this cast for a week or two?"

"That's what that female human who put it on said. After you fell asleep out here, she said humans usually had to wear them for up to two months!"

"They keep telling us we heal faster." There were advantages to being a Pokémon, it seemed.

"Does it hurt any?"

"No."

"You're supposed to take some other medicine twice a day when what they gave you wears off. Chris has it."

Leo nodded, a little difficult with his chin flat on the bench cushion.

In a quieter and a little more serious voice: "What did you see in the vision this morning?"

It was a simple enough question, but it made him tense about as much as when Chris was setting his arm! He tried laying for a little longer, but suddenly felt the need to get up and stand. He needed to move, to not feel like prey laying down ready to be filleted! Almost instinctively, he was searching for escape routes.

"What's the matter? I haven't seen you tense like this since we faced Dusknoir and Primal Dialga!"

He stared back at his partner in fear, the full memory of what he saw hitting him afresh and making his heart pound. It was the last thing he wanted to think about, but yet if he saw it in a vision, than it was likely important!

"Maybe you should sit, Leo." Blaze patted the edge of the two benches with his purple hand. "Tell me what's it is."

Finally realizing how he must be looking to his friend, he sat, making sure his back fin fit between the benches, but it felt like he was suddenly sitting on a cacnea! "I don't know how to describe it. I saw…destruction, humans dying, being attacked by this…_thing_ from the shadows that was seemingly delighting in it! I could feel it…enraged…hunting."

"Wh…_what?_" Blaze was on his own feet suddenly, crouching on top of the bench's cushion as his mane ruffled up, ears twitching.

"Blaze, I have _never_ felt that kind of fear before! Not even from Dusknoir. And the power it appeared to wield…" The vision of one wall of energy hitting something, causing it to explode, he doubt he would ever forget.

"Now you're making _me_ scared! Do you know what it was?"

"It was always behind something or hidden by fire and smoke, yet attacking. Fires were burning, and…screaming…" He had shared their fear, their desperation. He felt…a tear stream from his eye and down his face.

"Oh, hey, Leo! Hey, take it easy! It was only a vision. You weren't really there!"

"Blaze, I don't know if it was the past or the future! It could be about to happen; I don't know. No matter what, it was horrible…like the end of the world!" He had always felt a resistance to pour his feelings out like this, but in this case, he just couldn't help it. Even after what he said, it still fell far short of what he had felt.

His view was quickly filled with the infernape's face after his friend jumped off the bench to stand before him. "Listen, you're OK. And did you see anyone we know?"

Although he didn't want to, he went over what he saw yet again, then shook his head.

"That's good. No one we know was or will be there. So, the next question is, what does it have to do with our mission?"

Blaze's calm was rubbing off on him and he started to feel as least a little better. And with the return of reasoning, he realized something else. "Don't know, but you know, this is the second time I had a vision and hadn't touched anything to trigger it."

Cocking his head, "Maybe that Graveler…you were locked with him for a moment."

That was true, but… "Everything else that triggers one, is always in…it…" The front doors to the Pokécenter slid open, and a black-haired man in a dark grey suit came striding in. "That's him!"

The infernape swung around and watched the human approach the nurse at the desk. "That's…the grey clothes. That's who was watching you?"

"Yes." He couldn't quite hear what was said between the man and the nurse, but the man did point to him at one point. The nurse finally stood up and they both glanced toward him.

"Who is he?" Blaze wondered.

The front doors slid open again with Chris coming through this time, carrying a couple small bags. "Oh, hey, you're awake!" he greeted as he approached.

"Yes," Leo answered quietly, so as not to be heard very far. "Who's that human at the desk?"

"Huh?" Chris swung around, apparently noticing the person for the first time as the grey-clothed human quickly left the desk and the Pokécenter. "That man? Don't recognize him. Why?"

Leo told him what he observed.

Chris's eyebrows narrowed. "Strange." Setting down the bags, he went to the desk to engage in his own conversation with the nurse. Leo watched her shake her head and shrug before he returned.

"He was asking who your trainer was and how long I was going to be gone." He paused, then kneeled before him. In a quieter voice: "I'm beginning to think you have someone after you two. I mean, we had two people nosing around our camp last night, and now someone asking about you here. Look you two, I know you don't want to talk about your past, but I'm getting suspicious. Do you know of anyone who would have reason to…I don't know, come after you for any reason?"

"I don't know of anyone," Leo answered quite truthfully. Indeed, he really didn't know anyone at all on the human world!

Grimacing, "Well, maybe someone wants you because you can talk. I'm sure those who've heard you have probably told others. Stealing Pokémon isn't unheard of, you know. And with your broken arm, you're an easier then usual target now, Leo. I think I better stick closer to you." Picking up the bags, "But for now, I got us a special room for trainers and Pokémon at one of the hotels here. It isn't too far and is close to the gym, too."

"Don't worry, I'll protect you!" Blaze said, puffing up his chest with a grin.

Leo returned the grin before getting up and following Chris out of the Poke center, Blaze bringing up the rear. As they passed various enormous buildings and people, he swore he caught glimpses of the man in the gray clothes and sunglasses…

* * *

Leo Hanson stared for minutes at the screen. For the last few hours he tried working on the code, but the vision he saw that morning was too damned distracting. That, and the fact he missed the opportunity to intercept the trainer Chris and his swampert that perhaps had the dimensional distortion, was weighing on him. Of course he could wait until the trainer returned to his apartment and returned his call, assuming the old woman gave him his card, or maybe try to meet him again.

Finally, the 'modulus 93' subroutine that he wanted to ask the Professor about was really getting to him. He didn't like the idea of code in the control program that he didn't know anything about.

Picking up the phone, he tried getting a hold of Professor Werner for the tenth time, only to get voice mail again. Slamming it back down, "You'd think with things as hectic as they are now, he'd be here to help out!" He reached for some chocolates only to find his bowl empty.

"Calm down," Sally returned soothingly. "I'm sure he's busy taking care of things we don't have to deal with."

He opened the drawer where he kept candy, but found no bags. That's right: he was going to stop for some this morning, but had to hurry into the lab instead. He let out a sigh of frustration at generally everything.

"Maybe you should go home and get some rest. It has been a tough day for you."

"Don't we have to have this thing ready by tomorrow for full-scale testing?" he answered, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "I really should get this last module debugged, but I'm just staring it."

"Exactly. But if you insist on doing something…" Reaching inside a drawer of the cabinet next to her console, she pulled out a crinkly bag of something. "…I've been thinking a little."

"A little?"

Sally smiled, opening the bag and pouring chocolates into his bowl. "About that trainer."

"Oh, thanks! You're a life-saver." Taking a handful, he stuffed several into his mouth at once, enjoying the melting sweetness almost immediately.

"I know," she grinned, taking a candy for herself. "OK, suppose you're a trainer going to another city. What's the _most likely_ reason you're going? And it's a city that has a gym…"

"Ah, of course! To battle in the gym." At once, he was on the internet and getting the number for the Pinnacle Valley Gym. Dialing, a man with a gruff voice answered after a number of rings.

"Pinnacle Valley Gym, Eric speaking."

"Ah, hi. My name is Leo Hanson, and I'm wondering if you can tell me if a trainer named Chris Urbason has been there, or still is there, probably for a match."

Silence, then: "Well, I don't release information about challengers unless or until they actually defeat me. Until then, the names of challengers is privileged information."

"So, you can't even tell me if he was there? Or maybe where he is now if you happen to know?"

"Look, I don't help track people down, especially for people I don't know. If this person has challenged me and he wins, the record will be public."

"Then could I leave a message for him that you could pass along?" He was getting desperate.

"I don't take messages unless it's an emergency. Is this an emergency?"

As much as he was tempted to say otherwise… "Well, no…not exactly."

"Well, then I'm sorry. Was there anything else?"

"No, thanks anyway." He terminated the connection.

"Well?" Sally asked, her voice giving away that she thought it didn't sound hopeful.

"He wouldn't tell me anything. Challenger's names are protected, apparently."

Sally leaned back, stretching her arms up and behind her for a moment as her long hair fell off her shoulders and behind her. "Well…he got to this city fairly quickly today. You said maybe he caught a ride. Then what would compel a trainer who's walking here to suddenly want to catch a ride?"

"He got lucky?" Leo offered, before grinning. It was the closest he'd gotten to a laugh all day.

"Funny. But trainers walk between gyms not just to get there, but sometimes to battle on the way, don't they? I mean, you use to be one, right?"

"When I was a kid," giving a glance to Grovyle. He was the one Pokémon he'd kept with him. Though it had been real difficult all those years ago to give up the handful he'd captured, he knew they'd be better off with other trainers when he decided to devote his life to his education and get into physics. Grovyle though, had evolved before his eyes and the bond they had was so strong, he refused to leave. Even though their last battle was many years ago, the green skinned Pokémon never complained, and actually seemed to enjoy watching and sometimes helping with what he did everyday better than battling. In fact, at some point he even took a peculiar interest in studying the old Unown language; part of his bookshelf was filled with such research books now. That was stuff even he couldn't understand, language never being one of his favorite subjects. Certainly Grovyle was one strange (and smart) Pokémon, but as there were many different kinds of humans each with their own interests, he believed the same was true with Pokémon.

"Oh, right, back in the Stone Ages," Sally continued.

"And…the Bronze Age came right after that, you know," Leo returned, subtly pointing out she wasn't much younger then he. He added a smile to make sure she knew he was joking. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Grovyle cock his head.

"Inside joke," Sally said to Grovyle, then: "Well, from a Bronze Age maiden to a Stone Age warrior, what would really cause a trainer who probably prefers to be walking and battling to suddenly catch a ride to his destination?"

He thought at first she was pausing just for effect, but apparently she was actually waiting for an answer.

"_Gro_vyle!" The green Pokémon made a motion of fake punching himself before falling on his desk as if…

"Injured Pokémon who needs to get to a Pokécenter!" he said with Sally in unison. Grovyle was nodding as he started scanning the phone directory again, this time for the town's Pokécenter nearest to the route to Jade River City.

"Tenth Street Pokécenter, Pinnacle Valley," a woman's voice answered. "Nurse Jill Anders speaking."

"Hi. I'm Leo Hanson, and I'm hoping you could give me some information. I'm looking for a trainer named Chris Urbason, who probably has a swampert with him."

"Well, I really don't give out patient information to strangers."

"Please, it's really important I find him. Wait, I'm sorry, I should introduce myself better. I work at Pinnacle Valley University, Department of Advanced Physics. I think this trainer may be able to help us in a study. I've already tried contacting him at his home in Jade River City, but he's apparently traveled to this city already."

"Uh…" The nurse stammered for half moment. "Actually, you're aren't the first person who's asked about him or his Pokémon. What's going on?"

"Huh? Uh…who else is looking for him?" Indeed, who else?

A sigh came over the line. "Look, I don't know where he went, so I really can't help you anyway."

"So he _was_ there?"

"Yes, there was such a person here to get his swampert treated. But they are gone now. Huh, you know what's funny? His Pokémon has the same name as you."

"Er…what?"

"His swampert, it's name was also Leo."

He paused for a moment, wondering what that had to do with anything. "That's…interesting. Well, if he returns, could you give him my name and number and ask him to please call me?" The nurse agreed, and after giving his number, he terminated the connection. To Sally's expectant stare: "Chris _was_ there and had one of his Pokémon treated. A swampert to be specific."

"Ha! We were right!" Sally exclaimed with a grin. "So, where…"

Leo already knew her next question: "But he's not there anymore, and she didn't know where he went."

"Oh. Then what was so interesting?"

Not that he thought it mattered, but it sure was…odd. "His swampert has a name: it's Leo."

Raising her eyebrows, she started tapping the armrest of her chair, "A human…and a Pokémon…each with almost identical dimensional distortions…and both named Leo. Huh."

As she put it, it suddenly did sound amazingly coincidental. "Assuming it is the swampert that has the distortion," he added, wanting to be careful about making too many assumptions. "Oh, and the nurse mentioned there was someone else who came in and was asking about them. By her tone, I think she thought it was odd. Who else would be looking for them?"

"Professor Werner, maybe?"

"But he sent _me_ to find them."

Shrugging, "Then maybe one of his friends is looking him up."

The Professor's earlier warning about being careful again came to mind. What if there was someone else looking for them for the same reason he was, and the Professor knew it? But who else would know about the dimensional distortion? They had the only DV detector on the planet…

…unless…what he saw in his vision actually was what he thought it was, that being essentially another DP project. Would it really be a stretch to assume the DV detector technology could have already existed…and someone else had one?

Assuming all that, for what reason could anyone have for obtaining that Pokémon and it's distortion? Could it have anything to do with the reason for the distortion's sudden appearance several days ago? Or was it because a Pokémon and it's distortion was much more readily obtainable than a human (namely himself)? Or both?

Or neither, and it was simply an old friend looking Chris up?

Too many damned unknowns.

* * *

First thing Leo urgently sought inside the hotel room was the bathroom. Chris mentioned the room was for Pokémon as much as humans, and the bathroom design seemed to bear that out. After coming back out, the second thing on his list was the large soft-looking rectangular thing that was a bed. Chris had one in his house, only there were two large ones in this room.

Blaze seemed to be having fun on one of them already, bouncing up and down and earning a "Stop that!" from Chris.

"Ha ha! Hey Leo, this is fun! You feel like trying it?"

Shaking his head, he moved to the other bed, laying down on his stomach. He would jump like his partner just to try it, but the pain in his broken arm was beginning to return and all he wanted to do was lay still and let it throb.

Chris moved over to him after Blaze stopped jumping, "How's your arm doing?"

"Starting to hurt," he replied. "Is the medicine the nurse gave us supposed to help?"

"She said to give you some if it started to hurt again." Getting a glass of water, Chris handed it to him along with a small white round thing. "Swallow that along with the water."

Blaze leaned in close to have a look. "That's tiny! How can that help? Berries worth anything are much larger than that!"

Leo bit into the thing…and nearly gagged. "It's awful!"

"You're supposed to swallow it, not chew it!" Chris replied. "Drink the water."

After downing the entire glass in two gulps, the bitter taste hardly abated. He handed the glass back to Chris so he could refill it while suddenly noticing how close his infernape friend was. "Blaze, remember that bath I mentioned?" he asked, giving a wry grin. "There's a large bathtub in the bathroom."

Blaze backed up a little, grimacing. "Oh…right. I guess we both having been sweating a lot lately. Ha!" He quickly disappeared into the bathroom, running past Chris and nearly slamming the door behind him on his red tail. Sounds of running water soon emanated through the door.

"Sounds like he's taking a bath" Chris commented, handing him the glass. "I hate to say it, but infernapes smell a lot more than swamperts."

Leo again downed the water in a couple gulps, still not completely eliminating the medicine's unbelievably bitter taste. "Hadn't noticed." Of course, he could only guess how bad he smelled by this point, but if they were home they could take baths everyday and it wouldn't be an issue. The opportunity for baths on this human world seemed harder to come by, given all their traveling.

Sniffing suddenly, "Think I should probably have a shower too." Turning to start unpacking some stuff from his pack, "So, you have a home somewhere?"

"Far away," Leo answered, setting the glass on a table before laying back down on his stomach.

"I wonder if those men from last night came from where you live."

"I doubt it."

"How do you know?"

"Because humans…" Nearly too late, he realized what he was about to say. "…like that aren't found there." Not the best answer, but the only one he could think of without saying there were no humans _period_ were he is from. (Save for himself, but then he wasn't exactly human anymore.)

Chris turned slightly with an expression of curiosity. "Really? What kind of humans are there then?"

The running water sound stopped, replaced by a huge splash and the sound of water hitting the floor. "Ha ha he!"

Chris moaned. "So that's why they said we have triple the normal amount of towels in this room."

Leo almost grinned and started looking forward to his own bath. From the size of the tub, even he could fit in it, back fin and all, compared to the one in Chris's apartment which he might only be able to partly lay down and still not have water completely cover him.

"So what kind of humans are found where you're from?" Chris repeated.

"The kind we don't have to worry about." And that was true; 'no' humans was certainly a type one didn't have to worry about.

Sighing, "I guess I have a ways to go yet before I earn your trust."

Leo wouldn't had thought so before, but the comment hurt him.

From the bathroom, more water hit the floor - Blaze was certainly having fun.

Though his arm was hurting again and he still felt really tired, he seriously thought about telling the human everything right there and then. "Chris…if I told you where we're from, I don't know if you'll believe me. Blaze and I are here for a reason, and part of that is to find this human named Leo." And he suddenly remembered: "He's in this city."

"What?" Straightening up, Chris swung back around. "Are you sure? When did you find that out?"

"Couple nights ago." He got himself up from the bed to find what he thought he saw on the way in. "Can we use the phone directory again?"

Mouth open, Chris stared at him for a couple heartbeats before moving to the phone terminal in the room. "_How_ did you find out?"

"You wouldn't believe me."

"Try me." Touching the screen, he brought it to life before touching a few more "buttons".

"Another Pokémon told us."

"Ah…huh. You know, getting answers out of you is like pulling hen's teeth."

"What's a hen?" A Pokémon he never heard of?

"Never mind." With a few more screen touches, a list of Leos displayed, very few with photos. "Alright, in this city there are…seventeen Leos. _That_ certainly narrows things down. You certain he's here?"

"Yes." Celebi said Palkia narrowed his presence to this city, and Palkia wouldn't say it if he wasn't certain.

"Alright, so which one is it? We have a Leo Aberson, Leo Attoki, Leo Ciro, Leo Darinwood…"

Leo watched as the names scrolled up, hoping he would be able to recognize the last name.

"…Leo Heborti, Leo Hanson, Leo Kiljoy, Leo Perski…"

…? One of them…he wasn't certain, not at all, but there was something that drew him to one of the names. Leaning forward, he touched the screen over the one, sliding his large blue finger along it. "Hanson…" Was that his last name? He stared at it, trying to remember anything. A flash…a fleeting image of…other people… The image was too short for him to capture.

"Leo Hanson? He's the one?"

Shaking his head. "I…don't know. Maybe."

"Well, there's no image of him in here. Lets see if there's anything on the 'net about him." Chris took to pulling out the keyboard and bringing up a series of screens while there was the sound of water draining in the bathroom, then wet feet on the floor. "OK, no photos, but this came up. Looks like he works at the University of Pinnacle Valley here…in the Department of Advanced Physics? Whoa, he sounds like a smart guy, then."

Wasn't that what Celebi said about him?

"So, why is it we need to find him again? Hey wait, are you a research project?"

Again, Leo felt bad that he couldn't tell him, but if anything, the fact that he was the same person as Leo Hanson would be the least believable thing of all! Of course, he really didn't know why they had to find him _exactly_, just that he had a part of whatever disaster was going to happen. Though, that wasn't the only reason he didn't want to tell Chris. If there was danger involved, he didn't want him to get hurt. Maybe the less he knew the better. "Because we just do and no."

Chris frowned as he clicked around the screen some more. "Looks like a group photo here of the department." With a last click, the screen was replaced with a group of six humans…and one Pokémon.

"Grovyle!" Leaning closer to the screen, he focused on the image of the green Pokémon, barely making out the tell-tale scar on his right arm. And standing next to him…a light-brown haired human…not too young, but not very old either. Recognition came like an electric shock: that was…_him_!

_ Leo, don't go…_

The memory was gone as fast as it came.

In the photo, a young red-haired woman was standing in front of him; she was…beautiful… He very gently touched the screen over her. "Sally…"

"You know them?"

Chris's voice startled him out of his thoughts. "That's…him. That's the human we're looking for."

"I think the grovyle gave it away. Anyway, look damn it, why can't you tell me what's going on?"

He felt doubly ashamed to keep it from him, but he had to. If they were getting this close to his human self, they could be getting closer to any danger. Yet…would it be more dangerous to not tell Chris? He didn't know. Maybe after he met his human self, he would know more. Until then… He shook his head.

Chris took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "Alright. I agreed to help you find him, so we'll go meet him after the match tomorrow. Being a Friday, he'll probably be at work, I guess. Suppose we should try and contact him at home tonight by phone first…"

The door to the bathroom suddenly swung open and Blaze stepped out, his wet red, white and yellow hair still mostly matted against his body, and his long red and yellow mane spread and hanging down past his shoulders, giving him a comical, primitive appearance. "What are you two doing?"

Leo could tell at once the infernape smelled better, making him all the more anxious to get in the bath and return the favor. "We found him!" he said, pointing the photo on the screen. "We found Leo Hanson…and Grovyle!"

* * *

Leo Hanson rushed through the garage door, but the phone stopped trilling just before he could reach it. Waiting for a message, he or she didn't leave one. Still, it couldn't be the person he'd really like to get a call from, namely the trainer Chris Urbason; he'd only left his work number with the nurse at the Pokécenter. It certainly wouldn't have been him.

"Grovyle?"

"Yeah, it's going to be another early to bed evening, buddy. I'm beat and we have to be back early tomorrow."

"Groooovyle," the green Pokémon replied slowly.

"You too, huh? Having visions of the end of the world can really take it out of a person." Glancing at his friend, he flashed a smile. "Don't worry, it wasn't the end of the world obviously…only half of it." He chuckled a little, mostly to let his Pokéfriend know for certain he was only joking.

Grovyle walked past and out of the kitchen, giving a weak slap on his back as he did. "Gro_vyle_."

"I suppose you'll spend half the night reading those Unown books?"

"Gro_vy_le…rrr."

He tried acting normal while looking for something to fix for dinner, but it was all a facade. The raw fear he felt from the vision was haunting him still, and he really hoped it wasn't going to give him nightmares. Maybe some sleep aid was in order…


	7. Chapter 7: Closing the Gap

**Chapter 7: Closing the Gap**

It was mid-morning before they started for the gym and the streets seemed even busier then yesterday afternoon. Leo still felt the hurt in his broken arm, but the medication seemed to be taking care of most of it. He knew this because before taking any after waking up, his arm hurt nearly as bad as when it was first broke!

Still, there was no debate he would be coming along, despite his condition. Although Chris had planned to use him in the match at the gym before his 'accident', the human was still confident Blaze would make enough of a difference that he could, in his words, "pull it off". But after the battle, they were going to try and first contact, then meet Leo Hanson, assuming Blaze didn't need healing right after the battle.

Several times Chris tried calling his human self at his home, only to get "voice mail". He really didn't want to leave a message, since they couldn't wait at the hotel room all morning and second, well, this was unusual enough that he just didn't want to leave some message from a complete stranger.

Honestly, Leo didn't know what the right approach should be. He even had no idea how he was going to tell his human self who he really was, namely that they were the same up person to about three years ago. Would he believe him? After all, only he, Blaze and Dialga had any first-hand knowledge of the Future That No Longer Exists and of the three of them, Dialga couldn't appear and Blaze couldn't talk in human speech.

"Ow!" Blaze started hopping, holding his purple foot. As Chris swung around, "This concrete is hard!"

Leo relayed what his friend said, finding he could only agree. Concrete wasn't the most comfortable thing to walk on; humans all around them seemed to all be wearing footwear now that he started paying attention.

"It's only a few more blocks," Chris replied. Then with a slight grin, "I could probably carry you, if you want."

Blaze at once looked horrified, "That'd be embarrassing!"

Leo tried envisioning it, finding he couldn't disagree. Choosing not to share his conclusion, "He says no thanks." As a person passing them stared, he remembered yet again that talking in public in human speech probably wasn't the best thing.

Leaning closer after they left the same person many paces behind, "OK, I have to stop asking you questions in public," Chris replied.

Leo did a quick glance around them, making sure no one else had noticed…catching a glimpse of someone in dark gray clothes and sunglasses, far behind them, mostly hidden by those between them. Looking again, the person was gone.

Did he imagine it?

"Leo, that human Sally with the long reddish mane," Blaze started, "how much do you remember about her? Have you remembered any more about those others?"

The same thing had been on his mind since last night. He'd been struggling to remember more, but more just wasn't forthcoming. "It was just a impression; they just all felt familiar for an instant. But with that one human Sally, there was more, Blaze. I…_saw_ her. She said something to me." Unlike any of the other flashes of memory he had gotten, he could still recall this one! "She said: 'Leo, don't go'. And there was something…else. She felt special, somehow. I can't explain it." His partner remained expressionless for a moment, but when he next looked at him the infernape was smiling.

"It's good you're starting remembering more. Maybe she's a good friend to your human self?"

"Maybe." Maybe more?

Looking down for a moment, he wished for the countless time there was more he could recall and nearly bumped into Blaze when everyone stopped at a street corner. A pichu was also waiting there on the shoulder of a human.

Waving down to him, "Hi! What happened to your arm?"

"Huh?" He glanced at his left arm, instantly embarrassed he'd forgotten about it. "It got broke."

"Broke?" it asked in it's high-pitched voice, looking puzzled. "Does it hurt?"

"A lot."

"Must have been a hard battle. Are you going to the gym to battle again?"

"My partner is," Leo answered, gesturing to Blaze who then waved to the small Pokémon.

"Ooo…you look strong. You should win!"

Everyone started moving again and the pichu's human outpaced them, soon being out of sight.

"You hear that Blaze, you should win this match," Leo said, trying to instill confidence into his friend.

"Ha ha! I do feel strong today. My leg's fully healed and I feel like I can win against any one!" With a short bound, he leapt up as humans around them made sure to clear a wide spot for him to land.

"Of course you can!" Of course, he also noted Chris hadn't yet mentioned who their opponent Pokémon were supposed to be. Despite his friend's rising excitement, his mind quickly drifted back to his memories.

Why her, why that human female? Why was it the only significant memory he could recall so far? If she was a friend… Actually, the feeling he had was stronger than that. Her face…it expressed worry, great worry….and…she was crying?

Emotion. Perhaps, it was the most powerful memories he was remembering first?

"We're here!" Chris announced.

Lost in his thoughts, Leo never noticed that they had come up to a very large bowl-shaped building in the middle of it's own block.

Chris stopped well before the doors, as if admiring the view. "Last time I was here was a couple months ago."

"What happened?" Leo asked after carefully checking to make sure no other humans were around to hear him.

"We got our butts kicked, basically. The leader here uses all ground and grass types. Electric types are at their mercy. Wartortle was the only one on my team who had much effect against the ground types, but he was severely disadvantaged against grass." He glanced down before turning to face them, "But it was my fault for not reading up on this gym to learn what types the leader used. I thought we could win against anyone if we simply tried hard enough. Sometimes though, you're just at too much of a disadvantage and you need help. Blaze, will you be my help today?"

Blaze grinned in his special infernape manner while flexing his purple hands. "Grass types? I'll own them!"

Leo translated, getting a loud laugh out of Chris.

"That's the spirit! Alright then, let's earn that badge so we can qualify for the Tournaments! They're going to be held in this city, you know." With an excited bounce in his step, he lead them through the front double doors.

Leo felt a pang of guilt he wouldn't be able to help. Damn that vision, couldn't it had waited a few minutes till he was done with the graveler? In fact, he really could have done without it altogether. It still was making him shiver and look over his shoulder.

"Well, you've kept me waiting," a tall, thin, black-haired human greeted them gruffly by a desk just inside the doors. Then quickly smiling, "For about ten seconds. Nice to see you again Chris; hope you're better prepared this time then last."

Chris shook the offered hand. "Oh, I think so, Eric."

"Well, judging by the fact you have an infernape with you today, that does at least look to be the case. But…" Eric's eyes went wide, "what's with the cast on your swampert?"

"He broke his arm in a battle yesterday. It really didn't go well."

"Uh…yeah, I'd say. I've never heard of a Pokémon breaking a bone before. That had to of been one nasty hit! Will it live?"

Leo bit his tongue. He was getting tired of it; couldn't the human tell he was a _he?_

"Oh, he's tough. Fortunately we were able to get a ride to the Pokécenter here and get him patched up, but it'll probably be a couple weeks before he'll be doing any battling."

"Well, tell you what: if you win today, I'll personally sign it's cast!"

Chris glanced back to Leo. "Hey, it'll be your first signature."

Blaze cocked his head. "Signature? On a cast?"

"Would you like one, Leo?" Chris asked. "You can tell him, don't worry. Gym leaders are good at keeping secrets." He winked.

Eric looked at once confused. "Huh?"

Leo wasn't sure if he should, but Chris did seem to be encouraging it. "Are casts supposed to be signed?"

Eric's mouth fell open. "Hey! It talked!"

"And I'm also male, if you don't mind!" Leo corrected.

"Ah…"

"Yep, he talks," Chris said with a roll of his eyes. "And if I can ask a favor, please don't tell anyone. We'll get mobbed if it gets widely known."

The gym leader eventually nodded. "But, how are you able to talk? Only some telepathic Pokémon I thought could do that."

"It's a gift," Leo answered. And perhaps it was. Though most likely it was because he was once human.

"Uh, wow," Eric continued. "You are amazing. If you were my Pokémon, I'd keep you out of battles just in case something happened to you. You're too valuable to risk!"

"I don't mind." There was the matter of pride, after all. To be nearly beat by a Pokémon that hadn't even evolved once yet…

"So, how about we start?" Chris suggested.

"Ah…oh, right. _Darn_, you bring a talking Pokémon in here and give me only a minute to converse with him before wanting to get the battle going. Man, what a strategy to break my concentration! Brilliant!"

"Belief me, it wasn't by design," Chris almost apologized with hands up.

"Oh, don't worry about it. I'll still do my best to recompose myself. I think you'll find me just slightly better than last time, too. After all, we've had a bit of practice since also."

The sandy haired human laughed, seemingly nervously. "If you get any better, I should just give up."

"Ha! I still get beat my fair share. Let's get to the arena then, shall we? And…will you stick around for a while afterward? I'd really like to talk to _him_," jabbing a thumb behind him toward Leo. "This has got to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

"I think I can arrange it, at least for a few minutes."

Leo sighed. He knew Chris planned to use the phone afterward to try and contact Leo Hanson again, so obviously there would be a few minutes…and likely a number of questions he didn't want to answer.

* * *

"Sleep well?"

Leo Hanson returned a smile to Sally. "Sleep aid is good," commenting as he flipped power on to his terminal before releasing Grovyle from his Pokéball.

"Hey Grovyle," Sally greeted. "Say, the Professor is actually in this morning."

"So when is he leaving?" asking sarcastically, but in an upbeat tone. Truly, as much as their project head had been gone lately…

"He isn't as far as I know. But he doesn't tell me everything, you know."

"Or me, apparently." Indeed, high on his list was to get to the bottom of the 'modulus 93' subroutine. Doing a quick check, he found his access still denied. Sighing, "Alright, better find out what's going on then." Handing Grovyle the book on Unown research he brought with them, he plodded back down the open metal stairs and out of the lab to the Professor's office. As Sally indicated, Professor Werner was indeed in and in his office.

"Hello Leo, how's things shaping up out there this morning?"

The older man seemed just a little too cheery for his taste this morning, especially with the sleep aid not yet fully worn off. "I was wondering about that modulus 93 subroutine that seemed to replace what I was working on a couple days go. I'd like to have a look at the source code, but nobody seems to have access to it. Did you write it?"

The Professor didn't seem to miss a beat in tapping on his own keyboard. "Some of it. It was written by an outside vender to my specifications."

Leo nearly dropped his mouth open, not quite believing what he just heard. "An outside vender? Since when are we allowing outside venders access to this project? Having hardware manufactured is one thing, but the software is supposed to be written and seen by only this team!"

"Sorry, but there was little choice. I thought we needed some help in that area, so I solicited an experienced vender to write a generic control subroutine, and I modified it for our use."

Well, the Professor sounded sincere in thinking they needed help, but… "What vender?"

"One who gave us a good deal and asked not to be revealed lest others would want the same deal."

"I…_thought_ this project was supposed to have at least a minimum level of security on it." He paused, waiting for some kind of answer, but the Professor only glanced up at him between keystrokes. "Will you give me access to it so I can at least look it over? I am supposed to be the project lead after you."

"Wish I could, but it's proprietary and the company didn't want anyone else to have access to it. They're afraid it'd give away their competitive advantage."

This was starting to annoy him. "Who the hell would I tell?" Letting out a frustrated sigh, "Damn it, John! I don't like what's going on here! First you're pushing us to complete this thing sooner than we scheduled, now we have this secretive control module embedding into the system. I feel like we're losing control of this thing. Is it Derganio that's pushing us like this? Why are we even taking direction from them?"

"Calm down, Leo! They aren't pushing us like that. But I feel that the sooner we get going on at least the first round of tests, the better. We could be on the brink of something incredible! Doesn't that excite you and make you want to hurry to get going?"

Although the Professor sounded sincere, it sounded like he wasn't as excited as usual. Was the long hours and all the meetings taking that much a toll on him? "So long as we take reasonable precautions," he finally countered. "And that includes not allowing outside people to write our control software!" Indeed, it ran counter to everything the team decided about keeping the knowledge of the project to a minimum since the potential for creating real damage was high.

The Professor bowed his grey-haired head, pinching the bridge of his nose for a moment before fully facing him, "Leo, we needed help and we got it. So quit complaining. I'm ending this discussion. And since you haven't found that Pokémon with the distortion around it yet, please make that your top priority and bring it here. Thank you." Without another glance, the Professor started concentrating fully on the screen before him.

"Well?" Sally asked after he returned.

Hammering at his keyboard to log in, "He won't give us access. And get this, it was written by an outside vender who doesn't want anybody but John to see it." He glanced over when she didn't respond right away, finding her merely staring at him. "Yeah, exactly."

"But…we weren't supposed to do that. What about our security?"

"Shot to hell, as far as I can tell." He thought briefly about what he needed to work on next before making a decision. "Do you have any good hack programs?"

"Ah…_why?_"

"'Cause I intend to hack into that subroutine and see it for myself." The fact that he wasn't being given access was suspicious enough, but given the Professor's explanation, that wouldn't have been enough to cause him to try and break into it. But the Professor himself…something really wasn't right. He was too edgy, too unwilling to explain things, or at least provide explanations that weren't lacking. Which wasn't like him; he normally always explained his decisions in depth, often seeking the advice of everyone on the team. These unilateral actions were…abnormal. Not only that, he also seemed too…_inattentive_ in the last couple weeks, now that he thought about it. And he still didn't know why it was so important to find that Pokémon so quickly.

Something was going on…

* * *

"Wow, Leo! This place is huge!"

The faint scent of many different Pokémon and cut grass hit Leo as he stood just inside the daylight-lit arena, having very much the same reaction as Blaze in just marveling at the view in front and above them. Never had he ever seen such a large indoor space! He almost got dizzy staring up at the high ceiling and it's gigantic window that was letting morning sunlight stream in. And the field was only a small portion of the floor space. Surrounding the field in a huge circle was what looked like giant stairs. For spectators?

"Hey you two, come on!"

Leo ran with Blaze to catch up to Chris, carefully holding his cast arm to isolate it against the shock of running. They all stopped at a white line in the sandy, but mostly grass-covered ground, with Eric doing the same on the opposite side of the field, perhaps a good hundred paces away.

"OK Blaze, this field is just like what we had at the park, only larger," Chris explained in kneeling beside the infernape. "Just be mindful of the boundaries and don't do any attacks outside of the outer white line. That's illegal. OK?"

Blaze nodded. "Simple enough. Ha ha!"

A third person entered the arena from the side of the field, climbing a small platform just outside the boundaries at the midpoint. The young black-haired man glanced toward each side before focusing on Chris. "I'm Josh, and I'll be your judge today. This will be a one-on-one contest, with each trainer allowed to use up to three Pokémon out of a pool of six. Each trainer is allowed to make substitutions at any time, and there is no time limit. I'll be the sole judge of when a Pokémon is unable to continue battling, although either trainer may permanently withdraw any of their Pokémon at any time. Are you ready?"

"Yes!" Chris replied, and turning to Leo: "Leo, since you know Blaze and how he battles better than I, I think, would you stand by me here and make any suggestions you feel are appropriate?"

Leo at once felt useful again. Maybe he could help, despite his broken arm! He nodded without hesitation.

Blaze started walking onto the field…

"Whoa, hold on Blaze! Let's wait till we see which Pokémon he's going to send out first."

His partner looked disappointed, but Leo added with a grin, "You'll have to share the battling, Blaze. It sounded like each side will be using three of us."

"Ha ha! Be just my luck he would've sent out a water type," Blaze commented in getting back to the line.

"Seems your infernape is eager to get going!" Eric called over. "But it might want to wait a while."

"Why does every human call me 'it' too?" Blaze asked aloud as the gym leader whipped out a Pokéball, releasing a donpan onto the field.

Leo knew his partner could be fairly effective against the ground type, especially if he could use…

Chris whipped his own Pokéball off his belt. "Well, I really only have one choice here," he said quietly, pointing the ball toward the field and hitting the small button on it. "OK, Wartortle, let's do our best!"

"Yes sir!" the blue turtle-like Pokémon answered in glancing behind him after 'appearing'. "Hey you two! How's the arm Leo?"

"Healing," he answered. "Better focus on that donpan. They have a wicked rolling attack!"

"I know; I've faced him before. Don't worry, I can take him."

"You didn't last time!" the donpan shouted over.

"It'll be different this time!" Wartortle returned defiantly.

The donpan smiled faintly, rearing it's short truck upward. "Sure it will. Oh well, I need the exercise."

Leo wondered if the humans knew just how much Pokémon tended to jibe each other before and during fights, seeing as they couldn't understand the language.

"OK, Donpan, let's try that special maneuver we've been working on."

At once, the donpan balled himself up and began to roll…but not directly at Wartortle.

"Try and hit it with a water pulse!" Chris commanded.

"It's a he," Leo corrected, but he was mostly focusing on the battle now to care much.

Wartortle responded with the attack, missing as the donpan turned a quick arc and headed straight for him!

Leo recognized at once the move as familiar…

Wartortle tried another water pulse, but the donpan shot out it's legs and jumped…

"Jump!" Leo yelled as loud as he could, Chris echoing the command only a hair later.

The blue turtle-like Pokémon jumped as high as he could, just clearing the donpan as it landed right before where he had just been standing!

"Water pulse!" Chris shouted.

"Dodge!" Eric countered.

With his head already aimed down, Wartortle shot out the thin, high-speed wall of water directly downward as the donpan started to respond to his own trainer…but too late. The water slammed into the Pokémon, forcing him off his legs and onto the ground.

With nowhere to go but straight down, Wartortle landed on top and obviously didn't need any instruction before starting to pummel the donpan with his 'hands'.

"Donpan, get up!"

Clearly hurting, the donpan did get on it's feet and try to run, unsteadily…

"Another water pulse!"

Wartortle did as Chris commanded twice over, the first water pulse nailing the donpan from behind, and when he turned in an apparent attempt to try and avoid any other attack, the second got him in the side, pushing him over with a slam that almost echoed around the arena. The donpan hit the ground, sliding a little through a sand patch and panting hard as he came to rest. "Enough!" it cried as it lay still for several moments.

"Wartortle is the winner!" Josh shouted, holding a green flag up and pointing it toward Chris. "And wow, a talking Pokémon?"

Wartortle spun around, his light blue-haired tail swishing as he wore the widest smile a Wartortle could. "See!"

"Great job, Wartortle!" Chris congratulated. Then to Leo: "Good job on telling him to jump, too. That sure looked like that graveler's attack against you, didn't it?"

Leo nodded. "Did they learn it here?"

"Or maybe vice versa," Chris suggested. "Gym leaders are always on the lookout for new and better moves. They'll pick them up and use them, just like any wise trainer and Pokémon."

"Hey, Leo," Blaze said, "speaking of learning, do you remember that move that one charmeleon tried on us a while ago?"

He did remember, and was actually thinking about it earlier. "I wonder if you'll get the chance to use it here."

"Just give me the opportunity." Blaze grinned wickedly in apparent anticipation.

"Good job to the both of you," Eric shouted over while absorbing the donpan into a red and white Pokéball. "Your wartortle seemed ready for that move! And your talking swampert seems eager to help, too. Guess I'm going to have to try harder!" He quickly released his next Pokémon.

"Nidoking?" Chris grimaced. "Oh man, he didn't have him last time. Sorry Blaze, but you'll have to wait a bit yet. How you feeling Wartortle?"

"I'm ready!" Wartortle responded with determination and a thump to his hard shell of a chest, although he was breathing a little hard and looking somewhat tired.

Surely he must be really thirsty by now Leo thought, given all the water he had used, far more then he should have given his size. Water pulses used a lot of water, and he wouldn't be able to use many more before collapsing from extreme dehydration. Whispering to Blaze: "I'd be ready to go in."

"Hey, a little confidence here?" Wartortle said, apparently overhearing.

"Sorry," Leo returned.

The nidoking didn't seem interested in talking; instead he was staring menacingly across the field, the large horn jutting from his forehead adding to the effect as he pointed it at them.

"Careful Wartortle, he can poison you," Blaze warned.

Wartortle nodded, bracing himself for whatever was about to come.

Eric's command came quickly: "Nidoking, charge!"

Lowering his head, the nidoking launched himself forward in an instant to rapidly close the distance.

"Get ready," Chris said, not giving any clue as to what he was going to command next.

When the nidoking was over two-thirds across the field, Eric barked out a single word: "Tremor!" The nidoking jumped across most of the remaining distance…

"Sidestep!"

As the nidoking came flying in, Wartortle slipped quickly to the side to avoid being landed on, but the purple poison-spiked Pokémon instead twisted in the air and with apparently all his might, slammed into the solid patch of earth between sand patches with both his feet and thick tail, causing a rather good brief shake of the ground. Leo felt it all the way into his broken arm, producing a not-too-pleasant sensation.

Wartortle tripped, fell…

"Poison!"

The nidoking responded by rebounding from his slam into the ground and charging to tower over the fallen Wartortle, where he gave a quick slash of his longest horn to one of Wartortle's arms.

"Ow!" Wartortle screamed.

Leo watched in horror as he had no time to react right along with Chris, though at least the human managed to scream out a water pulse command almost at the same time Wartortle got scratched. He forced the water out of his mouth, straight into the belly of the nidoking as he still stood over him, and the larger purple Pokémon suddenly had every look of having the breath knocked out of him.

It was short lived however, and the nidoking responded with a short, quick kick, catching Wartortle in the stomach of his shell. Though Wartortle landed some feet away, he quickly got back up, looking none the worse for wear.

"Another one!"

Wartortle responded to Chris's command by sending yet another thin wall of water at his opponent, just catching a leg as the nidoking started to dodge and nearly making him fall.

"Tackle!" Eric yelled with more excitement than he had yet shown.

The nidoking's recovery was impressive as he whipped his tail and quickly caught his balance enough to push off on his other foot. The short distance between them didn't give Wartortle the opportunity to even try and get out of the way; Wartortle went flying to land outside the field boundary.

Leo was at once glad the water-type Pokémon had a hard shell, but still worried since such a hit still had to be felt.

"Nidokings are strong…" Blaze mumbled, looking a little worried himself.

Wartortle managed to pick himself up off the short grass of the outfield, but stumbled a little making his way back onto the field. Meanwhile, the nidoking moved over to his side of the field in response to Eric's command. Positioning himself in front of Chris, Wartortle was clearly tiring and struggling for breath while the scratch on his arm was now slightly oozing a yellowish liquid.

The two Pokémon faced off from their respective ends of the field, with Eric not giving any commands for a few moments.

"Damn," Chris mumbled. "He's too far away for us to go charging in…he's just waiting for the poison to take effect."

And dehydration surely wasn't making the situation any better, Leo knew from experience, having been poisoned more then a few times himself. After the first time, he always made a point of carrying some Pecha berries with them wherever they went. If there ever was a cure-all for the various poison types produced by different Pokémon, those berries were it. Unfortunately, he and Blaze left their bags at the hotel room. There now wasn't a Pecha berry to be had!

Wartortle suddenly put a knee on the ground. "We need to hurry and attack. I'm not feeling so good!"

Leo relayed what he said to Chris.

The human seemed to be at a loss for a couple heartbeats. Finally: "Alright Wartortle, charge in and use your best judgment!"

The blue Pokémon picked himself up with some effort and ran straight toward the nidoking with seemingly all his remaining strength.

"Tremor!"

The nidoking answered his trainer's command by jumping straight into the air as Wartortle was almost there.

Instead of charging in for a tackle though, Wartortle merely jumped slightly to land on his back just before delivering a water pulse once again into the nidoking's belly from below. The hit caused the larger Pokémon to stay in the air just a hair longer, giving Wartortle barely enough time to finish sliding out from under him.

But the hit was weak with little water, and the nidoking landed with as much force as before, causing a good shake of the ground, though not quite as strong where Leo was standing, due to the greater distance from the source.

Wartortle however…didn't get up; he stayed on the ground, panting and looking very weak. The nidoking merely turned, placing a foot directly over his stomach…

Eric took on a serious expression: "You can either surrender, or Nidoking can finish delivering a stomp," he said, more to Wartortle than to Chris.

"Help!" Wartortle cried, barely audible.

Leo quickly translated, though Chris didn't seem to need it.

"I withdraw Wartortle!"

The judge was quick: "Wartortle is withdrawn! Nidoking is the winner!"

"Good effort, little guy," Eric said to the defeated Pokémon as the nidoking gingerly removed his foot. "Now you better get yourself healed."

Wartortle struggled in rolling onto his stomach and tried getting up, but was too unsteady on his feet and quickly fell; Chris ran across the field to carry him back. Getting a small canister out of his pack, he sprayed it over the poisoned scratch on Wartortle's arm while Leo wasted no time getting a water bottle into his hands.

"You fought well," Leo said, words echoed by Blaze while Wartortle downed all the hefty volume in a matter of seconds.

"Have any more?" he asked weakly, holding out the now empty bottle upside down.

"You did really good, buddy," Chris replied, reaching for another bottle from inside the pack. "That last move you did was awesome, and you weakened him for Electabuzz. We stand a good chance now."

"Not me?" Blaze asked.

"Blaze wants to go in," Leo relayed. "Blaze has good effect against poison species."

"I need you fresh for who I suspect he's going to use as his last Pokémon," Chris explained with a pat to Blaze's shoulder. "That's where I failed last time. Don't worry, Electabuzz will have some effect too on a half-poison type."

His partner nodded while Leo didn't feel too happy about having Electabuzz out. Surely, he was going to make some comment about his injury.

Indeed, the yellow electric type Pokémon didn't disappoint after Chris released him onto the field: "Too bad about your arm. Only the careless get hurt that bad."

Blaze growled. "Only the overconfident make such comments!"

"Please just ignore him Blaze," Leo pleaded. Internal squabbling wasn't going to help them.

"Hm, an electric type now," Eric said from across the field. "Interesting!"

Leo started rubbing the gills on the side of his face with his one good hand. "Does he mean he was expecting Blaze to fight next?"

"Blaze would've been the obvious choice," Chris explained quietly, patting Blaze's shoulder again. "He would have a little better effect against a nidoking, but like I said, I'm going to need him for who I suspect will be our next opponent. Of course, he could surprise me too."

"Must be a tough opponent," Blaze commented, folding his arms across his white-haired chest.

Looking up, Leo noticed Chris was sweating on his face; he started considering rooting for Electabuzz…

"Electabuzz, charge!" Chris instructed.

Electabuzz kicked up some sand in getting himself going toward the nidoking.

In response, the nidoking simply stood, waiting…and still breathing a little heavily.

Chris watched intently, and when Electabuzz got close, "Low kick!"

"Jump!" Eric countered.

At the same moment Electabuzz swung one of his legs out in front of him, Nidoking jumped up and over his leg…

"Thunder punch!"

"Hit back!"

Leo swore Electabuzz had been expecting the command as the electric-type Pokémon rose an electrically-charged fist straight up into the nidoking's underside as he passed underneath, very reminiscent of Wartortle's last attack, only…the nidoking brought his fists down at the same time, resulting in a trade of blows.

Electabuzz went rolling sideways from the hit while their adversary initially landed on his feet, but he was unable to stay standing as the electric charge from the punch clearly had effect.

"Charge Electabuzz!"

"Charge Nidoking!"

Electabuzz was just a little quicker in getting up, slamming into the nidoking with enough force to counter the other's greater weight. The two quickly became locked in physical combat.

As the nidoking started to lower his horn in an attempt to poison, Chris commanded a thunderbolt and the two Pokémon were almost instantly glowing in bright electrical discharge, with steam rising from the nidoking as water from Wartortle's last water pulse attack evaporated. Leo instantly felt glad it was them and not him, still remembering the massive shocks he suffered not that many days ago.

Yet despite the crackling charge running around and through him, the nidoking still managed to scrape his longest horn across Electabuzz's shoulder! When the charge was finished, he gave a massive shove, pushing Electabuzz back several feet…before collapsing face-first.

Electabuzz stood panting where he ended up, not moving as seconds passed.

The nidoking continued to lay still…

"Electabuzz is the winner!" Judge Josh shouted, raising the green flag toward Chris.

"Great job, Electabuzz!" Chris shouted with a fist in the air. "Come on back!"

Eric likewise praised the nidoking for his own skill, before shouting over an "Excellent!" to Chris.

"Not bad," Leo said to Electabuzz as he walked by with Chris already having the antidote bottle in hand.

"Yeah, good job!" Wartortle furthered from where he was sitting and recovering.

Electabuzz only huffed.

Leo noted Blaze was focused completely on Eric though, waiting for him to release his final Pokémon – the one he would finally get to fight. "You're actually looking forward to this, aren't you?"

"We have a reputation to uphold, don't we?"

Since Blaze put it that way, "Doesn't look good to be nearly beaten by aipoms and machokes, does it?"

Blaze grinned, teeth fully showing. "No."

His partner was never further away from the timid and scared chimchar he was when they first meet then he was now, Leo realized, and he didn't feel all that disappointed about it.

"So, it seems I'm down to my last Pokémon, Chris. You're already doing better than you did last time, but I think I'm going to be stepping it up a notch now. After all, I can't make this too easy, can I?"

"Easy?" Leo exclaimed. Was the human joking? Already he had witnessed some battling skills rarely seen in the Poké world!

Eric laughed. "This is a gym, Swampert! It's _supposed_ to be hard! Badges aren't handed out, they have to be earned!" He appeared to finger several of his remaining Pokéballs before finding the one he wanted. With a quick motion, he brought it forward and released…

"Grovyle!" Blaze nearly jumped.

"Different grovyle," Leo pointed out after a few pounding heartbeats. Indeed, there was no scar on the right arm along with a few other minor differences…and one important one.

"It's as I thought," Chris mumbled. "Caution, Blaze; it may be weak against fire, but it's fast and has some powerful attacks that will work well on you. At least last time it did; it must be even better now. Speed is going to be the key, here. And Leo, this is where I may really need your advice."

Leo nodded along with Blaze. "It's female, by the way."

"Tell Chris to let me try first," Electabuzz said, directly to Leo. "If I can weaken her even a little, Blaze will have a better chance."

He didn't move as Electabuzz's selflessness came as great a shock as one of his thunderbolts.

Electabuzz seemed to sense it. "We're one team, so what counts is getting the win, no matter the method or by who. Will you tell Chris what I said?"

Leo translated, still feeling surprised.

Chris didn't seem nearly as much. Facing Electabuzz and putting both hands on his shoulders, "No, you need a little time to recover from the poison. If Blaze can't win, then you'll be a stronger opponent after resting."

Electabuzz nodded, moving to take Blaze's spot beside Chris after the infernape moved onto the field. "Don't lose."

Blaze glanced behind him, before giving a mischievous grin to Leo.

Again, it felt strange to not be out and supporting his partner. But watching all the battling without being able to do any himself, and yet able to give commands, he was finding…interesting. With someone else doing the fighting, it gave him time to think objectively...more so than when he was doing the fighting oneself. Sure, he had learned how to counter certain Pokémon and their expected attacks, but that was by learning what they did and what worked verses what didn't against them. Being separated from the physical combat, he was already thinking of a few creative things he was sure he wouldn't have thought of in the "heat" of it. And…the entire situation had a certain air of familiarity about it.

"Alright Blaze, you ready?" Chris asked.

"More than ready," Blaze called back, clearly excited and determined.

Leo couldn't recall when Blaze was last so excited by the prospect of a fight… Then again, it had been a long time since they had any sort of real challenge, the practice matches they had in the human world so far notwithstanding. Yep, the chimchar his partner once was had come a very long way.

* * *

Leo Hanson watched the command fail with growing frustration. The lab's computer system was…quite secure. Every attempt he'd made over the past two hours to gain access to the source code of Modulus 93 had been unsuccessful. Obviously, he simply didn't have the experience with the computer security to be able to override the subroutine's access properties. It would also had helped if he was a better programmer, but that hadn't been his real area of study.

"There's got to be a way…" he finally mumbled.

Leaning over from her console, Sally spoke in a whisper: "You know, maybe you should take a break."

"Really?"

"Definitely." Then smiling warmly: "In fact, how about we go out for lunch? It's almost noontime."

He couldn't help noticing a slight twinkle to her eyes…or was he just imagining it? Not that he hadn't thought of asking her out on occasion, but although he thought she showed occasional signs of interest, he was never really sure if she was only just flirting. Then again, it was likely just a simple suggestion of a lunch date between coworkers. Best to keep it professional… "Sure, just…"

Someone came running up the metal steps, George soon appearing at the top. "Hey, we finished getting all the individual subsystems tested! You know what that means?"

"We start prepping for full software interfacing," Sally answered, swinging around. "Hooray!"

Leo sighed, not sure if he was glad for the interruption due to the good news or not. "Alright, let's start filling the superconductor coil tanks with nitrogen.

"Yeah, won't the Professor be pleased!" George said with a glowing look of accomplishment. "We should be ready for Phase One testing on Monday now, provided we get all the communications set up this afternoon."

Still, he wished he had been able to review the mysterious code the Professor added. "Well, I guess since we're going to be busy with that, there goes lunch."

"No you don't," Sally countered. "I think you still need the break. How about you go out and get us some? Besides, I'm hungry." Seemingly putting on her best pleading face. "Pleeeease?"

Leo shook his head, finding himself unable to resist the beautiful red head for very long. Or George's expectant look either. He opened his mouth to answer…

"Great, thanks, Leo!" George exclaimed. "I'll get Naomi's and Ticonam's to shout their orders!" With that, the late twenty-something disappeared back down the stairs.

"Alright, I'll go!" Leo yelled after him. It sure was amazing the effect food had around the lab.

"Uh…where were you going?" George shouted back up.

"To that Fridley's Deli shop." After rolling his eyes at Sally's grin, "Come on Grovyle, let's go get lunch."

"Gro_ver_yle!" the green gecko-like Pokémon bounded down the stairs ahead of him better than George had, and with equal enthusiasm.

* * *

Blaze was delivering one powerful flamethrower attack, but Leo saw the grovyle bounding just out ahead of the flame and back toward Blaze. "Blaze, she's coming back at you!" He wasn't sure if Blaze had seen her from behind his flames or not, but he jumped to the side even as he was still breathing out the last of them, causing the counterattacking grovyle to barely miss him with a swipe of her leaf wrist-blades.

It was as tough as he thought it would be. Back when he was still a mudkip, he had battled his own partner Grovyle before they knew who each other was. He was a powerful adversary then. This grovyle was battling just as well if not better!

"Grovyle, slam!" Eric shouted.

"Punch!" Chris countered.

The two Pokémon collided, one with it's body at full speed, the other with a powerful fist. Leo cringed, almost feeling the hit against his friend as both fell backwards and were slow getting up, as worn as they were obviously getting. At the rate the battle was going, it was going to be close. Although still having Electabuzz available seemed to push the entire match in Chris's favor, he really wanted Blaze to win.

Perhaps it was time… "Chris, let Blaze do a fire ring! Then he has to follow up with…"

"If you have a good idea, then take over!" Chris interrupted. "It'll be too slow to relay commands through me!"

He didn't give it a second thought: "Blaze, like with the charmeleon, run!"

Blaze had already picked himself back up and was staring down the grovyle, separated by only a few feet. Without breaking the stare, he nodded acknowledgement and stepped back a couple paces before turning to the side and started running. The grovyle only stood and watched as he ran down along one side of the field.

Leo started to get concerned. The move depended on the opponent following, something the grovyle wasn't doing at the moment as gym leader Eric looked to be waiting to see what would happen before responding. There were, of course, ways to induce a chase… "Blaze, run around her and attack!"

His partner skidded to a stop, kicking up a minor amount of sand, then came back at the grovyle before veering off quite early to start running a wide circle around her.

The gym leader still didn't seem sure what command to give, until Blaze started breathing fire into the middle, nearly scoring a hit. "Grovyle, pursue and cut!"

That was it! Grinning slightly, "Straighten out!" Leo shouted.

His partner responded by going down the longest length of the field, purposely running at slightly less than flat-out. The grovyle was almost upon him in a matter of seconds…

"Jump!"

At once, Blaze appeared to slam on the brakes just a hair before leaping into the air as the grovyle started sailing underneath him with little room to spare. With seemingly all his upper-body strength, he swung his combined fists down between his legs to impact directly against her head, causing the grovyle's legs and lower body to continue on their forward path even as her head and shoulder acted like they hit a wall.

The hit wasn't entirely painless for Blaze either; hitting the ground just behind her, he was shaking his hands from the obvious pain they were in from such a massive hit. But he did get up afterwards, whereas the grovyle stayed on the ground, moaning with every look of being only partially conscious.

"Infernape is the winner!" Josh declared from the middle of the field "The challenger Chris Urbason wins the gym match!"

Eric went rushing out onto the field to check on his grovyle, but looked immediately relieved when she as least sat up, albeit holding her head and looking to have having less than full control of her senses.

"The hit looks worse then it really is," Leo explained to Chris, who was still staring with mouth partly open. Indeed, he knew this from first-hand experience while protectively rubbing his forehead.

"Where…did he learn that?" Chris finally asked.

"From a charmeleon that had an attitude and the skills to back it up," answering before Blaze returned. "Blaze, that looked incredible!"

The red and white haired infernape looked tired, sweaty, out of breath, and collapsed to the ground in front of them, but he was grinning practically from ear to ear.

"Blaze, you alright?" Chris asked. "Need anything?"

Leo was already getting him a bottle of water by the time he asked for such.

Once the grovyle was up and walking (slowly), Eric and Josh came over to them, and Blaze forced himself to sit up at least.

"Chris, those were some of the most amazing moves I've seen in a while," Eric said, specifically looking down at Blaze while shaking his head in apparent disbelief. "It takes a lot to defeat my grovyle, as you already know. You and your Pokémon are top-notch. You've all more than earned this," and held out a small golden medallion shaped like a mountain. "Congratulations on earning the Peak Badge."

Chris had his own wide grin as he showed the medallion to each of them. "You did great guys, all of you! And this badge makes eight!"

"And you," Eric said, putting a hand on the top of Leo's head between his fins, "In my many years here as a gym leader, and many years before that as a trainer, I have never, _ever_ heard of, much less seen, a Pokémon that could talk, let alone acting as a trainer. You…are _really_ one special Pokémon!"

He looked up at the good foot-taller human, not sure what to say. "I guess, we all have abilities."

Eric nodded. "Yes, indeed we do. But I wouldn't mind in making you use yours for a while yet."

"Or me," Josh added.

"No problem," Chris said. "But can we use your phone first?"

After Eric directed them to the phone terminal near the gym's entrance, Chris pulled out a scrap of paper with a written number before entering it. It rang for a good few times before a click and the display showing the call was being rerouted. "Huh, maybe not at work either?" he mumbled, just before the call was answered by a female voice.

"Advanced Physics Lab, Sally speaking." The terminal displayed "Voice Only" on the screen.

"Um, yeah, hi. I'm looking for Leo Hanson?"

"Oh, Leo left for lunch a little bit ago. Can I take a message?"

"Uh…sure. My name's Chris Urbason, and…this may sound strange, but I have a friend who needs to talk to him."

The line was silent for several moments…long enough that Leo was wondering if the woman had hung up.

"Chris Urbason?"

"Yes."

"Oh, then you got Leo's message!"

"Message? What message?"

"He left you messages at the Pokécenter and your home."

"He…did?"

Leo shrugged in response to Chris's glance which nearly asked 'What aren't you telling me?', feeling just as surprised as both the human and Blaze looked.

"Er, I guess I didn't get them then. I didn't even know he was looking for me."

Long pause, then: "Well, that's OK, it's not important now. Do you have a swampert with you?"

Blaze cocked his head, his mane puffing up and eyes widening.

If he had a mane, it'd be puffing too, Leo thought. Was it possible his human self knew about him?

"Well…I do actually," Chris replied, "but how…"

"Where are you right now?" The woman's tone sounded completely different, clearly more excited.

"I'm at the Pinnacle Valley Gym. But how do you know…"

"Please, will you stay there for a while? I'll call Leo right now and tell him to go there and meet up with you. He's, well actually all of us, have been looking for you for the last several days."

"Can you tell me why?" Chris asked, his expression being pure confusion.

"It's a long story, and he'll explain when he gets there. Will you stay there until he arrives? Shouldn't take him more than an hour or so."

Leo nodded, making sure Chris saw him.

"Uh, alright, we can stay here for a while."

"OK, great. Please don't go anywhere! I'm sure we talk to each other again soon. Bye!"

Chris turned from the screen. "I guess we wait here then. But how could they be looking for _us_? Wait, could they have been the ones who in our camp a couple nights ago? Alright Leo, how about telling me who this Leo Hanson is exactly?"

"Leo?" Blaze asked. "I think we should tell him, but I don't understand how they could be looking for us either. Does he know about us and why we're here? Maybe Dialga told him."

"I don't know." Would Dialga or Palkia actually have contacted his human self? He instantly crossed that off as unlikely; after all, he and Blaze were ones who were supposed to find him! In human speak: "We don't know why he would be looking for me, he shouldn't even know I exist, but I'll be telling you everything I do know when he gets here. It's going to be a long story."

Chris raised his eyebrows, but seemed to accept it with a nod. "Well, then let's go see how Electabuzz and Wartortle are doing in the recovery lounge. I think Mr. Eric desperately wants to talk to you, too."

Leo sighed. It seemed he was about to do a lot of talking.

* * *

Leo Hanson grabbed the bags from the counter, handing one to Grovyle. It was a small celebration feast if anything, for getting all the construction and subsystem tests complete. Reaching Phase One was an accomplishment many long, struggle-filled years in the making. But it was only equivalent to reaching first base in baseball. If the fully integrated system tests didn't work, such as the superconductor coil outputs not being properly regulated in relation to the maser outputs for example, it would mean trying to redesign a major part of the system. Sure, the computer simulations showed it would all work, but he still had butterflies over whether the full-up tests would have the same results.

"Theory's about to meet fact," commenting to Grovyle as they were leaving.

"Grroverol."

He smiled, knowing his partner well understood what he met. The green Pokémon had only been there watching for most of the years of the project.

Feeling a familiar vibration in one packet, he handed the second bag of hot deli food to Grovyle to answer. "Leo."

"Hey, it's Sally. You aren't going to believe this! Chris Urbason just called!"

He stopped dead in his tracks, his heart suddenly pounding. "_He did?_"

"Yes. And he has a swampert with him and they're waiting for you at the Pinnacle Valley Gym. One other strange thing: he said they've also been looking for you, _specifically_, as well."

"Well, obviously he got get either my card or message."

"No, he said he didn't; in fact, he didn't seem to have any clue we were looking for him."

"Really?" That sounded…odd. Why would they have been looking for him just out of the blue, then?

"He also said it was a friend that was looking for you."

Curious…but that was secondary. He just felt relieved they had finally found this mysterious trainer just when it seemed like it would take much longer to do so, and had a thought of how pleased the Professor would finally be…then had another thought. "Have you told the Professor yet?"

"No. I haven't told anyone yet. Wait…you don't want me to tell him, do you?"

"Right. Don't tell anyone yet, not till I call back."

"You're…uh, never mind. OK, I'll wait."

"Thanks. But…I just got everyone's lunch."

"Don't worry about it. I'll go pick something up. I'll just say you got an urgent call from…"

"My grandfather." He knew she wanted to say parents, but they were both dead, a fact he rarely brought up. "Thanks, Sally."

"Will you be bringing them back here?"

"I don't know. Probably, eventually, but I'll call you first before I do."

"OK. Leo…good luck."

He powered off his phone, facing Grovyle. "Change of plans, Grovyle. We'll be taking the subway to the gym."

The green Pokémon looked up at him, his bright green eyes curious. "Grovyle?"

"We found him. Chris Urbason is waiting at the gym for us."

"Grover, Grovyle!"

"Guess we're about to find out if this person and Pokémon are truly dangerous or not."

Grovyle's voice suddenly was lower: "Grroveryle."

It wasn't far to the end-of-line subway station and the wait was only a few minutes, but the one large guy in the black suit and dark sunglasses was already starting to make him nervous before the train arrived.

* * *

Leaning well back into the couch, Eric took a quick sip from his can of soda as his grovyle watched from a cot nearer the wall. "That's all really curious, so I have to ask: where you from? Do they have gyms and matches there?"

"There are battles, but no gyms," Leo answered carefully before sipping from his own can of fruity flavored and scented bubbly water, all the while watching Wartortle to make sure he didn't run out of plain water. Even a while after the match, he was still drinking it down to replenish what he used in water pulse attacks. "Pokémon battle each other when they feel like it."

"Boy, that's a place I'd like to visit! Where did you say that was?"

"It's where Blaze and I are from." And he refused to get any more specific.

"Don't worry, he gives me the same non-specific answers," Chris chimed in.

Leo thought he detected just a hint of annoyance. And…he really couldn't blame him anymore. He feigned sudden interest in the signature Eric put on his arm cast for a moment. "Can I ask _you_ something?"

"Shoot," Eric replied.

Shoot? Figuring that meant yes, "Why do you battle?" He made sure to direct the question to the grovyle as well.

"Well, to get better," Eric replied. "I like Pokémon, I think you're fascinating creatures, and I want not just me, but my Pokémon as well to be the best we can all be. Pokémon are naturally just as competitive as humans, and we all want to be the best and have fun, don't we?"

"You've given me something new to work for," the grovyle replied. "I have to get stronger to defeat you next time."

Eric looked to his partner, nodding. "I think she agrees."

"More or less," Leo said to give him some confirmation, though it sounded like he didn't need it.

"After I heal," the grovyle added. "That was a good hit. It hurt." With one of her two-fingered hands, she gingerly started feeling around the bump on her green forehead.

"That's what it finally took to beat you," Blaze said. "That says how tough you are. Any ordinary grovyle would've lost long before. I had the advantage, after all."

A buzzing sound came from the ceiling for a few seconds.

"I think your guest is here," Eric announced in getting his tall form up from the couch.

At his words, Leo felt his heart start to race.

"This is it," Blaze commented, jumping up from the floor. "We finally meet him now."

"Meet who?" the grovyle asked.

"Yeah, meet who?" Wartortle echoed.

Electabuzz showed the same question on his face, though barely.

"A friend," Leo only answered, earning a frown from one of them.

Following Eric and Josh down the hall, they rounded a corner that took them the rest the way to the front entrance of the arena. There, standing by the front desk holding a bag, stood a man maybe six feet tall, with light brown hair, blue eyes, and a still young completion, dressed in a shirt and the usual blue jeans most humans seemed to wear. Beside him at about two-thirds his height was another grovyle, a scar on his green right arm, also holding a small bag in his clawed, two-fingered hand.

Although he tried preparing for this moment, Leo still gasped, feeling instantly frozen to the floor.

"Is that…_you?_" Blaze whispered near his ear.

Words didn't come near quick enough; he nodded. Not just from whatever memory he had of his time as a human, but from just plain, raw feeling came the certainly the human in front of them was his other existence! As sure as staring into a mirror…

Now…just how was he supposed to greet…himself? As he stared at his other self, his other self glanced around, ending up focusing dead on him.

"Leo Hanson?" Chris asked, stepping forward to hold out his hand.

The man shook it and in a mild voice, "Yes. And you're Chris Urbason then? Glad to meet you, finally."

"Sally said on the phone you've been looking for _me_?"

"That's right. For a few days now."

"That's interesting, cause we've been looking for you. In fact," Chris turned, waving Leo forward, "this swampert is who really wanted to find you, though he hasn't told me why yet."

"It…has?" Leo Hanson focused on him again, brow furrowed in obvious confusion.

Leo approached till he was standing right in front of his human self, but first paid a glance to Grovyle. It was so good to see him again… Looking up to his human self: "Hello, Leo."

The mouth of his human self fell open.


	8. Chapter 8: Homecoming

**Chapter 8: Homecoming**

Leo Hanson stared down at the finned water-type Pokémon. Did he hear right? Was someone playing a prank? It had moved it's mouth…and actual words came out; human words! "You…can talk?" Glancing to Grovyle, he saw his partner nearly drop his sack of food.

"Yes," the swampert answered with an unidentifiable accent, fixing it's pale green eyes on him.

This was…unheard of! Apparently the dimensional distortion wasn't the only unusual thing about this Pokémon? "Ahh…" He stammered, trying to find some appropriate words. Locking his own his own eyes onto the swampert's for a moment, something felt…familiar? No, that was absurd; he'd never seen it before. But there did almost seem to be an usual intelligence about them, no doubt influenced by it's ability to speak! "…how?"

It seemed to smile in replying, "I won't say here."

So it was some secret? That stirred his curiosity, enough to chip away some of his shock. "Your name is also Leo?"

"Yes."

"Well…I guess there were some questions I was hoping to ask…uh, _you_, then." Since it could talk, he supposed he could go right to the source, so to speak, on asking it about the circumstances surrounding it's distortion. Of course, he had a few things to reveal too…now both to it's trainer and it.

The white-bellied Pokémon nodded, making it's head fins sway slightly. "I know, and I have a long story to tell you. I'm sure you'll have a lot more questions when I'm done."

Of the things he least expected when he walked into the gym, a talking Pokémon was certainly near the top. But darned close behind was the said Pokémon or it's trainer claiming to have a long story to tell him. They only just met!

"And _I_ have a few myself," the blonde-haired trainer Chris added, glancing to the both of them. "Look, would someone please tell me what's going on?" Facing the swampert, "You're acting like you know him. Do you two actually know each other or not?"

"I've never seen this swampert before," Leo Hanson answered, surprised again at the question from it's own trainer. If he had ever encountered a Pokémon that could talk, he without doubt would have remembered it! "First swampert I've seen in person, actually." The creature was, obviously, a water-type, and nearly man-sized, though somewhat shorter. But it's appearance was the least thing on his mind at the moment… other than the fact it was a Pokémon! "But I'm getting the feeling you know me somehow. Sally said you her you've been looking for me…"

"Like I said, it's a long story," the swampert interrupted.

Whatever the swampert knew, he was getting a distinct impression it was more than he did. "I guess I'd like to hear it then," Leo replied. But like it said, the gym wasn't the place for him to reveal anything either. "How about we go to my house for the afternoon to talk? Besides, you can help me eat this lunch." He smiled slightly, raising the bag of deli goods he still was holding, Grovyle doing the same. Food always made for a good ice-breaker, too.

The swampert nodded with a smile, "That would be good." The infernape next to it whispered something, the swampert answering in the same Poke language.

"We can take the subway most the way," Leo continued. "It's only a twenty minute ride." As they left the gym and it's puzzled employees behind, he had the strange feeling what this swampert wanted to tell him would be at least as interesting as what he had to reveal to it and its trainer.

* * *

"We're going to your human home?" Blazed whispered in his ear.

"I think so," Leo answered. His human self lead them outside after Chris absorbed Electabuzz and Wartortle back into their Pokéballs and said goodbye to Eric and Josh. Shortly after, he would've marveled more at the underground 'subway' boxes that moved them great distances, but he was in the presence of…_himself!_ It seemed ethereal. This would have been him if the time paralysis never happened…no, it _was_ him! Two difference versions of himself, with he being from a future that had been altered and now didn't exist, except in his and Blaze's memories.

As soon as the subway got moving, Grovyle quickly faced his snout toward them, "What did you mean about going to your human home?"

Blaze's face became one of surprise. "You overheard?"

The green Pokémon who had helped saved the Poké world in the Future That No Longer Exists folded his arms, waiting.

"I'll explain when we get there," Leo answered, hoping to avoid any further discussion until he had the chance to explain 'everything'.

"I don't trust you; you will explain things to me now!" Grovyle insisted.

That was a switch! At one time in the Future That No Longer Exists, it was he and Blaze that had trouble trusting _him_. Although it was difficult to realize, this was not the same Grovyle. Yet, it still was good to see him again and he ached to tell him so. Judging from the struggle on Blaze's face, his friend had the same desire.

It would be pointless though, since like his human self, this version of Grovyle had no knowledge of either of them or of any of the events that led to their meeting. Not that it made the desire any less, though. "The story is too long to tell here," Leo finally answered.

"And if we simply told you the answer to your question, you won't believe us," Blaze added.

Grovyle at first seemed to accept that, but with a quick move dropped his bag to whip an arm up to Leo's neck, pinning him against the side of the subway car with his leaf blades sharp against his throat! "Ever since we started looking for you, I've sensed danger surrounding you! If you intend to hurt Leo, I will hurt you worse!"

With his own quick move, Blaze wrapped an arm tight around the Pokémon's slender neck, causing his mouth to partially open as both Chris and Leo Hanson whipped around trying to get their hands and arms between all of them and shouting to stop, all to little avail.

Blaze fought off the attempts, keeping his arm firmly around Grovyle. "You have it all wrong!

Bringing up his one good arm, Leo tried taking some of the pressure off his own neck. "If we intended to hurt him, he'd already be hurt!" he spat out as Grovyle's leaf blades started to cut just a little from all the struggling. He wasn't liking this side of his former partner, yet he also couldn't be too unhappy with seeing how he wanted to defend his human self either! "We're here because we need his help! The whole world needs his help!" Locking eyes with the smaller green Pokémon for a moment, it felt like he was seeming staring straight into his soul with a piercing glare; in a couple heartbeats, the intensity in his eyes faded and he allowed himself to be dragged back.

Leo Hanson chided Grovyle for his actions before apologizing for them, and the two humans soon continued in light conversation, one of the top questions to Chris being what happened to his swampert's arm. Among the Pokémon there was only silence, Leo figuring it best not to say anything in front of Grovyle at this point. They all needed some time to get used to each other…again.

With little to see out the windows except passing walls of concrete and lights, he grabbed one of the vertical metal posts, settling in across from his human self so as to see him better. It felt like watching a ghost. He wasn't sure if it was mere flashes or more substantial memories, but he swore he could feel more coming to the surface of his mind, as if all he had to do was reach and grab them, but yet were still just out of his grasp.

In turn, Blaze was watching him carefully. He seemed concerned; no…that was too strong a word. He appeared cautious, despite his relaxed demeanor while hanging on to his own post.

Humans got on and humans got off at the various stops, passing between them up and down the isle. It wasn't long before his human self led them off into the semi-busy underground labyrinth that was the station. A couple set of stairs later, they were back on the surface, passing various shops and houses in a somewhat more crowed part of the city then was around Chris's apartment in Jade River. Although he didn't recognize anything specific, it felt familiar nonetheless.

Unfortunately, Blaze seemed to not be enjoying all the concrete they'd been walking on, letting out an "Ow!" at least a couple times after stubbing a toe on edges of the concrete path. Concrete was not something found in the Pokémon world, and perhaps for good reason!

With each passing house, Leo felt his heart beating just a little quicker; it was close, and he knew when they arrived even before they stopped.

"Here's my place," Leo Hanson announced quietly as he pulled out a small card-like thing from one of his pockets.

Shading his eyes from the bright afternoon sun, Leo looked the house over: two floors, narrow light blue front interrupted by only the door and two windows, one on each floor. Bulbous trees with thin, wispy leaves appeared to be growing from the roof along with various shorter plants along the edge. "Perennials…" he mumbled, earning Blaze's glance before he too looked above at the roof.

Up the short walk to the front door, his human self whipped the card in front of something to the side, producing a quick sound of something clicking. Then pushing the door open, waited to the side for everyone to enter. "It's small, but I have a great patio on the roof."

The memories that had been merely teasing him before now were growing restless. Inside the house that he used to call home were all things that stood as reminders of everything he was before becoming a Pokémon. From the table just inside the door, to the small items on shelves, to images on one of the walls. His eyes froze on one of a human woman…

_"Leo…Leo…my little Leo! How's my little baby today?"_

_He was happy and giggled as the pretty woman picked him up and hugged him._

_ "Guess where we're going to go? We're going to the market and buy some candy! You like chocolate?"_

_ "Yes!" he burst out, feeling so excited. He loved her, she was everything, she was…_

"Mother…"

"Leo?"

He snapped out of the memory, discovering Blaze right next to him in the crowed hall.

"More memories?"

There was no doubt now - he _was_ remembering some his human past! "My mother," he whispered.

Blaze looked at the picture again, much more intently.

"That's my mother," his human self said, apparently noticing how he and Blaze had been staring at it. "And the next photo is of my father."

Leo looked it over, but it didn't seem to trigger anything.

"He died just before I was born," Leo Hanson explained.

"I'm sorry," Chris replied.

His human self shrugged, "I never knew him. Anyway, how about we go up the roof and I'll get lunch set out. I assume none of you have eaten yet?"

Leo answered in the negative with everyone else, acutely aware suddenly of his stomach growling in response to the delicious smell from the paper bags. As his human self led them up some stairs, Grovyle gave him a serious stare with narrowed eyes as he passed them on the way up. No doubt with his obviously sharp hearing, he heard what he told Blaze.

The area on the roof looked very nice. Several trees growing out of large pots were arranged in a large circle around a group of chairs and small tables, giving some semblance of privacy as well as decent shade. With some non-Pokémon birds in the trees chirping away, his human self soon had the food from the paper sacks spread out across one of the tables.

"You can let your other Pokémon come out and eat too if you want," his human self told Chris. "I was actually just picking it up for my coworkers when Sally called to tell me you where you were." Briefly disappearing back downstairs, he soon returned with a pitcher of water and more food in the form of chips and other stuff Leo couldn't immediately identify.

Chris took the offer, releasing Electabuzz, Wartortle, Elekid and Pikachu. All four went right for the food without question…

Of course, they were just a hair slower than either Blaze or himself, which Leo felt glad about since the four other Pokémon practically cleaned off everything!

His human self waited until he got himself settled with his plateful, then: "OK, now that we can talk in private, why were you looking for me?"

Leo glanced around to Chris and the other Pokémon, seeing all the questions they had on their faces despite the face-stuffing.

"Guess it's time to explain everything, Leo," Blaze said before swallowing a mouthful from a large sandwich. With a grin while still chewing: "I've been looking forward to hear how you're going to tell all this."

"Thanks," Leo replied sarcastically, then to his human self: "Can I ask how you were looking for us first?" He didn't mean to be adversarial, but ever since his human self said he had been looking for them at the same time they were looking for him, he wondered how that was possible. Surely Dialga, Palkia or Celebi _really_ hadn't found and told him, had they? "I mean, how did you even know about us?"

"Interesting coincidence, huh?" his human self replied. "Especially since the only reason we were looking for you or even knew of your existence was because we detected this… well, it's a small distortion around you." Using his hands, he shaped out a small, round imaginary object. "It's hard to explain, but it's…"

"A what?" Chris asked with a full mouth.

Leo nearly gagged on his sandwich, as did Blaze. "You already _know_ about that?"

His human self now looked just as surprised. "_You_ know about it?"

Leo nodded along with Blaze.

"Ah…in that case, I've got a virtually identical one around myself, you see. It's been around me for at least three years, but yours only showed up a few days ago. We heard about an incident involving a Pokéball that wouldn't capture a Pokémon, so we put two and two together and started tracking you guys down. What happened on Sunday evening and just _how_ do you know about your distortion?"

Chris appeared to swallow quickly. "What are you talking about; what's these distortions?"

"It's…" Did he want to say what it was the result of before he had told the full story yet? "…the result of some events."

If any more surprise was possible on the face of his human self, he expressed it. "Are you saying you know what's causing them?"

"Yes. And as for what happened a few days ago…" Leo braced himself, hoping they wouldn't immediately dismiss him, "that's when we," indicting Blaze and himself, "arrived here from a different planet. We came here to help avert a potential disaster that could effect not only the world we're from, but this one too." Glancing around the group, he feared their sudden dead silence and faces that ranged from deadpan to shocked to disbelief.

"You know how to leave them speechless," Blaze commented with a wry smile before crunching on a chip.

* * *

Leo Hanson barely avoided dropping his plate of food, such was the sudden surge of thoughts he got. This swampert knew what was causing the distortions? He was from _a different planet_?

Unbelievable. No, _really_ unbelievable!

Yet…

…_if_ true, that held all sorts of implications for the project, including proving some of the theories they had.

But more importantly, how did they get here? And what this "potential" disaster?

Next to him, Grovyle was shaking his head.

Chris Urbason coughed, quickly reaching for some water. After: "I thought you a strange Pokémon, being able to talk and all, but…come on!"

Somehow, Leo felt that they hadn't even heard the half of it yet…

* * *

"Are…you…joking?" Wartortle asked, his brown eyes wide in his roundish blue head.

Leo returned a "No I'm not" before replying to Chris: "That's not the only thing different about me." To the entire group: "I think it's best if I start at the beginning, about three years ago when my first memories also begin as a mudkip. That's when I woke up on a beach, where Blaze, who was a chimchar then, found me. I was at once disorientated and lost and I couldn't remember _anything_, except for two things: My name was Leo and second…I used to be _human_."

The face of his human self become one of…disbelief?

Chris was motionless for several heartbeats before almost shouting: "That's impossible! Humans can't be turned into Pokémon!"

"I had the same thought when you first told me that, ha ha!" Blaze admitted. "But I quickly grew to believe you."

"What kind of crazy story are you trying to tell to us?" Electabuzz said angrily. "That you're crazy? That you're _both_ crazy?"

"Are you sure you're feeling all right, and the pain medication isn't making you imagine this?" Chris seemed to further. "Maybe I should get you back to the Pokécenter right away."

It was more or less the kind of reaction he expected, and he sighed as Wartortle and Pikachu came plodding over. Jumping onto his back, Pikachu planted a hand to his forehead while Wartortle gave him a good poke in his white stomach. "Hey!" Right in the sensitive spot, too!

"Nope, you're a Pokémon," Wartortle announced. "Humans are softer."

Hopping down a few seconds later, Pikachu shrugged. "No fever," announcing in his higher-pitched voice.

"He's not sick!" Blaze told them sternly, making them both back up a little. "Neither am I."

"Maybe not physically," Electabuzz replied snidely.

All this while, Leo noticed Grovyle merely looking on, not giving any sort of reaction other than a few twitches of his wrist leaf blades.

"What you say is physically impossible," his human self said with the tone of someone ready to dismiss it out-of-hand. "Your body's DNA sequence would have to be changed in every cell and your existing physical form altered drastically…all without killing you. No such technology exists that I've ever heard of. Not even close."

Leo took a drink to gain a few seconds to think; what did he know or remember of human technology? "Maybe not _here_." Just what kind of technology would a Pokémon's attack fall under? "It _is_ possible, whether you believe me or not. But maybe things will start making more sense if you let me go on."

Chris was shaking his head, but leaned back in his padded chair anyway. "Are you _sure_ you're feeling OK?"

"I'm fine, except for this broken arm of course!" he reassured, raising his left arm and cast.

* * *

If it wasn't for the swampert being able to talk, Leo Hanson would've written the story off immediately as the product of a wild imagination. A human becoming a Pokémon? Certainly impossible! The technology necessary would be…mind boggling.

Yet…there were aspects of the swampert's story which lent it at least a little credence. "Well, your explanation of why your dimensional distortion suddenly appeared on our detector at least seems as plausible as any other…_I guess_."

Chris appeared to regard him for a moment in obvious surprise. "You mean you think they're really from a different planet?"

"I'm saying right now this swampert's explanation is as good as any other. At this point, I have no better explanation."

Indeed, he really didn't. In fact, the spike they detected that preceded the steady waveform, could that have been the result of a dimensional portal opening? If was it, then the nearly identical distortion around him would mean that…he _also_ was from a different world?

That absolutely couldn't be true! He'd been on Earth all his life like everyone else; given the current state of space travel, otherwise simply wasn't possible yet. But if being from a different planet wasn't the reason for his own distortion, what other explanation could there be? Did it have anything to do with the swampert's distortion either?

* * *

The form sat in front of the screen, watching the live satellite feed on his screen in the darkened room, showing the individuals that held his interest on some rooftop. He didn't need the video to tell him they were there though, or at least in the area - he could feel them as anomalies. For three years there had only been one, and now there were two.

Still, there was some relief in that what he knew would happen was at last beginning.

A smile crossed his thin lips, thankful he'd prepared for this a while ago and had taken steps recently to speed things up. Which wasn't to say he wasn't still worried. Now was the most dangerous time, given Dialga's and Palkia's arrivals, but the trap was nearly ready and would be baited soon.

Yet for the moment, other than making sure tabs were kept on the two anomalies, there was little else to be done. Though that could prove to be a crucial task.

Turning off the monitor, he only wished the others could see how much effort he was going through for them.

* * *

Leo continued the story through some of their early adventures at the Guild and his first experience with the Dimensional Scream. That he noticed in particular, seemed to have an effect on his human self, though he said nothing. His human counterpart had the ability - Grovyle had said once it was the reason they could investigate at all in the Future That No Longer Exists, but did it work the same way for his human counterpart in _this_ future?

Going through their meeting Uxie at Steam Lake and the beginning of the theft of the time gears, "It was then Dusknoir told us the thief was a grovyle…and that he was a criminal from the future who was trying to steal the time gears." He was careful not to look Grovyle's way but others did, if only for an instant. "Dusknoir went on to reveal he also was from the future, and came to apprehend Grovyle."

"Time travel?" his human self asked. "That's possible?"

"At the time he didn't say how he did it," Leo pointed out.

"That wasn't till later," Blaze added with a slight puff of his mane and twitch of his red tail. Of course, only the other Pokémon understood him.

"At first, Grovyle was able to steal more time gears, even after Blaze and I confronted him twice. Dusknoir stopped him from gaining the very last time gear however, and apprehended him. Then from the middle of Treasure Town, a time portal opened and we all gathered to see him take Grovyle back to the future with him. But just before leaving, Dusknoir had a special goodbye gift for me and Blaze, though. You see, he grabbed and pulled us into the time portal with him!"

"Uh…why?" Chris asked.

"Into the future?" Leo Hanson asked. "How far?"

Leo looked to Blaze for an answer, who shrugged from where he was laying on the floor. A couple times they had discussed that very question between them, but could do little more than guess. "We aren't sure; a few years we think. It didn't matter anyway. We woke up in a prison cell and when we were let out, we were blindfolded and lead out somewhere before being tied to posts. When the sableye removed the blindfolds, we found Grovyle tied to a third post next to us. He told us we were all about to be executed."

If nothing else, he certainly had their full attention now, even earning a few gasps as he continued through their escape and subsequent discovery that the world had fallen deep into the stoppage of time know as the Time Paralysis. "Although I tried to use the Dimensional Scream to gain some clue as to what to do next, after touching the waterfall, nothing happened, as if it didn't work anymore."

"Then, it worked differently in the past?" Leo Hanson asked, apparently choosing his words carefully.

"Grovyle told us after we met back up that the Dimensional Scream only worked if the object touched had something to do with the time gears…but obviously, it worked differently before."

"So it…changes in what it sees?" It was almost more of a statement of fact rather then a question.

Leo nodded to confirm what his human self asked. "Grovyle told us another thing. The Time Paralysis wasn't actually caused by the removal of the time gears, but rather by the collapse of Temporal Tower."

"And what's that?" Electabuzz asked. Although his tone implied he was feigning interest, his rapt attention right along with the other Pokémon said otherwise.

"It's the tower that helps Dialga regulate time."

Chris nearly jumped out of his chair. "_Dialga?_ He's…real?"

"The Pokémon that can control time itself?" his human self added calmly, eyebrows raised. "No one's ever seen him. Only old fables that few believe tell of him."

"He's real," Leo insisted. "And the collapse of his tower caused him to degenerate. He became more primal, concerned only with his own preservation; more like a mere animal. Dusknoir was his servant, sent to prevent anything in the past from changing, and hence changing him. That was why Dusknoir tried to have us killed – we were apparently considered a threat to the events that caused the Time Paralysis. Of course, we weren't entirely certain we could believe Grovyle yet, but I convinced Blaze we needed to at least go along with him and find out if it was true."

"I'm very glad you did, Leo," Blaze responded, laying onto his side in a more relaxed position. "We would still be there in that world of darkness if you hadn't."

"Grovyle also knew of a way to get us back to the past. It was the same way he traveled to the past the first time: with Celebi's help."

Chris opened his mouth a good moment before anything came out: "First Dialga, now Celebi? Oh man…"

"Celebi's been seen recently, Chris," Leo Hanson pointed out. "If you believe the accounts. There was a write-up in the paper a couple months ago. It's more believable than Dialga."

"I read those accounts," the sandy-haired human. "Seems there's always someone looking for her, but very few who claim to actually find her. Naturally, I wouldn't mind having her on my team myself, but…"

"A lot of people would give anything to time travel with her, but I thought the ability was just another fable."

"Ha ha, she can do it, no doubt," Blaze said. "Believe me on that!"

Leo took the opportunity to stuff his mouth again before continuing: "With Grovyle leading us, we marched on and eventually found her. She was very agreeable to helping us, and Grovyle yet again, but in order to return to the past we had to go to a special place where a temporal rift existed that she could open."

"And that's how you got to the past again…" his human self said.

Nodding, "But Dusknoir found us just as we reached it, blocking the entrance. And he brought help: Dialga in his primal form."

Blaze rose and standing on both his hands and feet, tried giving a fair impersonation of Dialga, going so far as to give a almost Dialga-like growl.

"We were outnumbered and out powered, badly, and Grovyle saw only one outcome: he offered to surrender." Indicating both Blaze and himself, "We wanted to fight, but…" lowering his head, the thought of surrendering hurt even now, "Grovyle had a point; it was hopeless. Yet he said even though we may have failed, there was still hope, and revealed he hadn't gone into the past alone. You see, he had come to the Poké world and traveled into the past the first time _with a partner_, since what had been happening in the Poké world was also affecting the human world. They became separated while they were traveling back in time and he hadn't seen him since, but he was certain his partner was working to secure the time gears and complete the mission."

"So, where was he? _Who_ was he?" Wartortle asked.

Leo paused for effect. "Dusknoir asked the same thing…" and for the humans benefit: "…who Grovyle's partner was. Wanted him to say his partner's name. Grovyle did, and it was…Leo."

Blaze settled back down. "That's when I pointed out Leo was right there, behind him."

After translating for Leo Hanson and Chris: "But Grovyle said the Leo he knew was different…because his partner was a _human_." After letting that sink in for just a few heartbeats, "Dusknoir then told him I used to be human but somehow became a Pokémon with a near total loss of memory, something he had learned while in the past and grown to believe. Grovyle naturally was shocked at the news; Dusknoir only laughed. It all made sense: I had been trying to stop Dusknoir right along with Grovyle. Only I didn't remember it! He had used my memory loss to his advantage to gain our trust and use us against Grovyle. After he captured Grovyle, he pulled me and Blaze into the time rift with him since I was Grovyle's partner, and his mission all along had been to eliminate both of us. It looked like he was going to succeed."

* * *

Leo Hanson shifted in his chair; the swampert's story was becoming uncomfortable. It's story was intricate enough that he was finding it hard to not believe it, or at least some of it.

But that wasn't what was starting to trouble him.

The number of coincidences was growing. He and this Pokémon not only had virtually identical dimensional distortions and the same first name, but also had a Grovyle as a partner, both were from the human world, and both had the ability to see visions of either past or future events – the "Dimensional Scream" the Pokémon called it.

Could it actually be…_conceivable_?

Yet, the time line…even if it could be possible, something didn't make sense. They couldn't both exist at the same time! But what other Leo had a Grovyle partner, had visions, and would have traveled to a Pokémon world? Who else would have the ability?

Heart pounding, "Leo…_who_ were as a human?" He had to know even as he feared the answer.

* * *

Leo imaged Blaze's expression as asking if he was going to tell his human self right then and there. He very nearly blurted it out, he wanted to, but he couldn't tell him. Not just yet, not without telling him about the change of futures. Yet he certainly had to suspect by now. "Have any chocolate candies? I really have a taste for some." Asking not just because it was true, but to partly to give his human self another nudge toward his own conclusion. But really, he could of used something sweet after taking a long drink of water to quench his growing thirst after so much talking.

"No…all out," his human self answered guardedly, though his eyes grew just a bit narrower, full of thought.

Continuing his and Blaze's story, he revealed how they were able to escape Dusknoir's and Dialga's trap and get back to their world in the past. With Grovyle's help, they got the first time gear, but…as he predicted, the Time Paralysis was already starting. Even replacement of the time gears had no effect; time was rapidly beginning to slow anyway. After agreeing to split up in the interest of time, Grovyle continued to gather time gears while he and Blaze started to investigate just where Temporal Tower was. But the task was near impossible.

With the Guild's help they managed to find Lapras, who knew where the tower was, and after Grovyle had retrieved all the time gears, headed off for the Hidden Land.

"Eventually we reached the ancient ruins Lapras told us about, where we saw many murals painted on the walls of legendary Pokémon like Mew, Dialga and Palkia. We also found the Rainbow Stone ship, a platform that was supposed to take us to up Temporal Tower. A stone plaque with Unown symbols had instructions, which Grovyle revealed he was able to read."

Grovyle flinched…

"It turned out the relic fragment Blaze had been carrying with him all this time, was in fact the key that would activate the ship."

"I was right: it was valuable!" Blaze said with a smirk. "Ha ha!"

An understatement if there was one! "Dusknoir though, had been waiting for us with his sableye henchmen, and ambushed us before we could get the ship moving. With yet another time portal, he intended to take us back into the future where we could no longer threaten change to it. We had no choice but to fight…and together we were just able to defeat them. While Blaze went to the stoneship to activate it, Grovyle and I guarded Dusknoir to make sure he couldn't interfere. But he a strong Pokémon he was, and he recovered quickly. In a last act, he tried again to take me down; with a leap, Grovyle took the attack instead, and with all his strength, charged at him to push him to the very brink of the time portal."

Leo swallowed; the story from this point would be difficult. There were certain things painful to remember, much less have to tell to others. "Before Grovyle pushed him in, Dusknoir made a last plea. The fact was, if we succeeded in preventing the collapse of Temporal Tower, those of us from the future…we would cease to exist. The future would change and since Grovyle, Dusknoir and I were products of that future, when it ceased to exist, so would we."

Blaze was suddenly quite still, as was everyone else.

"I didn't want to believe it; I asked Grovyle if that was true, and he said yes. He also told me we both knew that would happen when we left the future for the first time, and we had both accepted our fates as the price to pay for saving the worlds from a bleak future. When Blaze returned from activating the stoneship, Grovyle gave him the time gears, said goodbye, and pushed Dusknoir and himself into the time portal, sacrificing himself right then and there to give Blaze and I a chance to complete the mission. Grovyle was…truly a brave and selfless Pokémon, and we still miss him greatly."

He barely fought off some tears as he looked to his partner. "I…regret not telling Blaze what was going to happen to me as we were traveling up to the tower on the stone ship; I just wanted to spare him the news for as long as possible."

"I remember you looking sad on the way up, Leo," Blaze replied quietly, moving to rest his head on his knees, "but I couldn't figure out why at the time."

"I'm sorry, I didn't want you to be sad."

"I know."

* * *

It was hard not to feel a sad foreboding for where the swampert's story was going, Leo Hanson realized. A suicide mission… He was fairly certain the talking Pokémon was correct about what would happen if he altered the future and prevented the very events that caused him to become a Pokémon, at least according to current time theory.

Could he himself have accepted a suicide mission? Would he have been brave enough to go through with it and sacrifice himself to save both worlds like this unique Pokémon had? He had doubts.

The Pokémon hadn't yet answered his question of who he had been as a human…at least directly. Well, so he also liked chocolate…who didn't? Surely, there _had_ to be another human Leo somewhere! One who had a Grovyle for a partner.

Or this Pokémon was just plain lying about some of the facts…

…for what reason?

Even if it were possible, how he could exist in two forms at the same time anyway? Not that he had any logical explanation it couldn't be possible, but…he had no way to explain it either. It just struck him as being not possible. Which really didn't mean much, considering humanity's current state of temporal physics understanding.

* * *

Leo continued: "Temporal Tower was already starting it's collapse by the time we reached it. Dark red clouds were swirling around the top like a hurricane, making it plain something bad was happening. Fighting our way past Dialga's Pokémon guards as fast as we could, we were in a race to reach the top as sections of the tower were crumbing; by the time we got up there, it was swaying badly. We appeared to be just in time. At one end we found a large stone mural with five indentations in it; Blaze figured out they were for each of the time gears.

"Though before he could put them in place, Dialga appeared and started accusing _us_ as causing the tower's collapse! We tried reasoning with him, but it was impossible – the impending collapse and disruption to time was already having too great an affect on his mind. As tired as we were, we were forced to fight him and no doubt if he had his full mind about him, we wouldn't have been able to knock him unconscious."

"But in just the few minutes it took for us to do that, the unsteadiness in the tower had gotten far worse. Blaze hurried getting the time gears in place, and as soon as they were in their proper places, the tower stabilized. Dialga woke up shortly after. He thanked us for saving both him and the tower…before promptly sending us on our way."

Leo paused to get his breath, his heart pounding at essentially reliving the events as he was telling them. Everyone was looking at him expectantly, fully engaged in the story. Except Blaze, who was looking down, eyes closed; he couldn't imagine how painful this was about to be for him.

"With our mission complete, we left the tower and started making our way back to the stoneship. There were still tremors shaking the ground, occasionally making walking difficult, but even with that I began noticing I was in trouble. I felt suddenly tired, heavy, barely able to walk…and within a few more steps, I could no longer move at all; a light started surrounding me. During our climb down inside the tower I was wondering when it was going to happen, and now it was - my existence was at an end. I finally was about to join Grovyle, Dusknoir and everyone else who were from that dark future we escaped from, and cease to be."

"Blaze came running back and immediately noticed the light. At that point, there was no putting it off any longer, I had to tell him the truth I'd been keeping from him, that when we completed the mission, we changed the future and by doing so, those of us from the future were destined to disappear forever." Feeling his voice wavering, "I just wanted to…tell him…"

"You told me to be brave and go on living," Blaze said solemnly, still looking down. "To tell everyone what happened when I got back, so that it would never happen again. I kept your last wish."

Hesitating, Leo breathed deeply, fighting to not get overwhelmed by the emotion of the memory before translating for the humans. "I was glad we trained together…went on adventures together…and became friends. It was an adventure I would…never forget. I would never…" He couldn't help it; a tear ran down his face. "…forget _him_. I didn't want to go, but I had no choice! The light around me became blinding, then…nothing. There was nothing."

Looking to Blaze, he was at once overjoyed his disappearance wasn't permanent! But the sorrow of that day he knew was etched into both their souls for all time. "Blaze had done as I asked, telling what had happened when he returned to Treasure Town, telling everyone who would listen over the next several months of our and Grovyle's actions to save the world."

His human self cleared his throat. In a quiet voice: "What you two did was noble and brave. But to point out the obvious, if your existence ceased because you altered the past…"

"How am I here now?" Even through the clouds of emotion, he realized it was a question he would be asking at this point too! Actually, he'd been waiting for it.

Chris seemed like he finally took in a breath before leaning back in his chair from it's edge. "Well, I'm happy you're both here as part of my team. And I think I'm following everything, but I never thought a Pokémon would have it all over me on…whatever this time knowledge is."

"Time theory," Leo Hanson filled in.

Noticing his human self hadn't stopped staring at him at all, Leo continued: "I did disappear and there was nothing of my existence for several months. But from my point it was instantaneous. After disappearing, I suddenly found myself standing on the beach, on the very spot where I had awoken as a Pokémon for the very first time. Blaze and Bidoof were a few paces away, and Blaze was…" Glancing to his seemingly life-long partner, he wondered just how 'un-tough' he should make him sound, but then his friend was a chimchar at the time and somewhat more prone to such emotion. And Blaze's eyes were already watery anyway. "…sobbing."

His friend formed a weak smile. "I had come to the beach to watch the sunset that evening for the first time in a long while, but ended up remembering you and everything we did together. Losing you was...hitting me a little hard after that."

Despite having been two years and having became an infernape since, he could still see the hurt on his friend's face. Leo translated again, continuing: "It didn't take Bidoof long to get Blaze to notice I was there behind him. He was…rather happy to see me…"

"Maybe a little more than that," Blaze quipped with a lively twitch of his tail.

"…while I was a little disoriented, wondering how I had come to be there all of a sudden after having just disappeared from the base of Temporal Tower."

Wiping his red face with the back of his hand, "You know, you had the most astonished look on your face," Blaze said in a tone more like his usual self.

"I'm still surprised you could see with how wet your eyes were," Leo returned with a good-natured grin. "He and Bidoof spent the rest of the evening filling me in on everything that had happened in the months since I disappeared, and the rest of the Guild members were quite surprised when I came walking in unannounced with him and Bidoof the next morning. I don't quite remember such a party like we had afterward."

"Ha ha, that was the best party _ever!_" Blaze shouted with a good laugh.

* * *

OK, so he came back into existence somehow, Leo Hanson thought. How? "OK, but how did it happen?"

"The party?" the swampert asked with as best a grin as a swampert apparently could make.

He swore the Pokémon knew what he was asking, but was just toying with him…in a good-natured way though. "No, how did you come back into existence? Was the future changed again?" He sure hoped not; he was already fighting to keep all the time traveling straight in his mind!

"At first we didn't know, and neither of us were going to argue with it. I was just happy I was back, whatever the method. Several months later we returned to Temporal Tower to met with Dialga to see how things were going, since time was still slowly getting back to normal in many areas. He then told us he used his powers of time to bring me back, as a gift and thank-you for saving him."

Dialga again? The old legends about that Pokémon weren't real specific about what powers he had, but if he had the ability to resurrect someone from a future that had been erased… "If he did that, he is one…_powerful_ being, then."

"He _is_."

Blaze appeared to second that in Poké language.

Reaching past the infernape, Chris took the last of the chips. "Leo, if all of this is true, then when I said you were special before, I was more right than I knew. I mean, wow!"

"Special" didn't even begin to describe this swampert, Leo thought. Still, there was yet one important question the Pokémon had yet to answer: "Who were you when you were human?" He needed the confirmation, and noticed Grovyle moving closer to stand beside his chair. Perhaps his partner did too.

* * *

"I think it's obvious," Grovyle said, his first words in a while.

Leo hoped so, so it wouldn't come as much of a shock. Fully facing his human self: "Leo Hanson, you and I…are the same person." Although Chris froze, he concentrated on his human self's reaction. There was no surprise, just an… Acceptance? Confusion? Disbelief? Definitely a look of someone's world being turned upside down…

"This is confusing," Wartortle eventually said from where he was sitting near Chris. Pointing between the two of them, "You say you're the same person, yet you look like two different people to me."

It took only a minute to explain how the change of futures didn't affect his birth, and when Dialga brought him back into existence, that didn't erase his other, still human, self. "That's how there are two of me and we really are the same person, but the point where we saved Temporal Tower is where our pasts became different and we became two different people, since that's where the time lines separated."

"I…ah…_think_ I understand," Wartortle replied with a brief shake of his head.

"Uh…un…huh." Although Pikachu nodded, his face said something different, while Electabuzz and Elekid merely stayed silent.

"Don't worry, I didn't really understand it at first either," Blaze confided. "It just takes some…_time_, to sink in. Ha ha."

"But now, we're only half done with our story," Leo said.

"There's _more?_" Chris asked, leaning forward and reaching for his now empty glass.

"Oh yes. Because the attempted sabotage of Temporal Tower was only the _first_ attempt to control the world."

Wartortle and Pikachu fell on their stomachs, seemingly already exhausted.

* * *

Leo Hanson was glad everyone took his suggestion of a break; not only did he need a good stretch, he just plain needed some time to absorb everything! Two of him: himself…and a Pokémon! The concept pretty hard to take.

Bringing out a couple bowls, he started assembling a mix of more chips and other snacks while going over the swampert's long tale to make sure he understood it all.

Basically, in the other future some events on Earth were supposedly happening due to the Time Paralysis taking place on some Poké world, a world inhabited only by Pokémon. He traveled there with Grovyle, investigated, got turned into a Pokémon himself while traveling back in time in order to prevent what had already happened, and did end up saving the world at the sacrifice of both him and Grovyle, leaving a terribly sad Pokémon friend behind at the end. The timeline was changed and the events on Earth due to the Time Paralysis never happened. Therefore, he continued on with his life as normal as a human, but on the Poke world, Dialga brought his other Pokémon self back into existence. Therefore, there was now two of him, each as a separate being…and each obviously very different physically.

It was completely absurd!

Yet the swampert's explanations actually made sense. From what he knew of time theory, changing the past like it supposedly had been _would_ carry the consequences the Pokémon spoke about. Also, Celebi _was_ rumored to have time-travel abilities, and Dialga also _did_ exist according to ancient legend, having some undefined powers around time.

As for traveling to another planet… Well, he already knew how that could be possible, which brought up the question of when or if he should bring the Pokémon to the lab for study of the dimensional distortion.

Wait…the talking swampert hadn't explained what that was yet, did he?

Leo finished up assembling the food and turned to head back to the roof patio, finding Grovyle had come down into the kitchen at some point. "Well, what do you think of all this, buddy?"

His partner replied with his usual "Groverrryle…," indicating perhaps acceptance, though his green eyes indicated a lot of deep thought going on, similar to when we was reading his books on Unown research.

"It sounded like your study of the Unown language paid off in that other future," he found himself saying. But shaking his head, "You know, it's hard to believe I could have done all that stuff, though."

"Gro…vyle."

There was something else about his expression that he couldn't quite read, though. A certain…sadness? With a talking swampert around, maybe he could translate. "Let's get back up there and hear the second part of this swampert's story, huh?" He almost wanted to say _their_ story, but it was still hard to overcome his doubts, whether well founded or not.

Handing his partner a bowl, he lead them back to the roof.

* * *

The next half of the story was easier for Leo to tell, since neither he nor Blaze died during it (almost not withstanding). He described the impostor Cresselia who tried to use Palkia to kill them, Darkrai's plot to use the spatial distortions around them to control the world, and how it was Darkrai who not only had been the one who set the events in motion to cause Temporal Tower's collapse, but also accidently turned him into a Pokémon through an errant attack on Grovyle.

"After we defeated him at the bottom of Dark Crater, Darkrai created a spatial portal in an attempt to escape, but Palkia destroyed it just as he entered, causing him to be transported to somewhere else, and erasing his memory in the process."

"A fitting ending since he was the one who caused you to lose yours," Blaze added, making no obvious attempt to hide his satisfaction.

He couldn't disagree with his partner. "So, that's basically the end of everything that had happened to us over the last three years."

"So you two lead pretty dull lives then," Chris said, hiding whatever expression behind a sip of water.

Leo glared back until he understood the human was only joking. "Things calmed down some after Darkrai was defeated. Guess you could say it started getting dull then."

"Did Darkrai explain exactly how he transformed…um, you into a Pokémon, though?" his human self asked.

"No. And since he lost his memory, I don't think there's any going back either. And this brings us to why we came here. After we had been parted for a long while, Dialga returned from Temporal Tower several days ago with some alarming news. He said he was starting to sense some disaster that was going to happen in the future, and…" pointing between him and his human self, "…it somehow involves the two of us and the distortions we have."

His human self appeared to regard him with carefully while leaning forward just a little. "Then, what _is_ this distortion around me, exactly? You explained what the one around you is, but I haven't travel through time…"

"First, the distortions around Blaze and I have nothing to do with this, as they are from him and I being to the future. But Dialga told us I have a _second_ distortion around me that's a result of me being from a future that no longer exists. And because I still exist in my human form, it is mirrored around you as a way of keeping things in balance. This second distortion is a combination of time and space, and can appear as if it's a different dimension. It's these additional distortions that Dialga believes are involved."

"So that's what we've been detecting…"

Chris shook his head, "OK, I'm not a physicist, but what kind of disaster is heading our way and just how are you…and uh," he gestured to Leo Hanson, "him, involved?"

His human self nodded, indicating his desire to know too.

"Dialga doesn't know," Leo admitted. "All he could sense was something bad was going to happen at some point in the future, and believes it involves me and my human self. He doesn't even know the extent of the problem yet, just that it has the potential to be very serious, perhaps worse than the Time Paralysis, and that it could happen on _this_ world as easily as the Poké world. Palkia created a spatial portal to get both me and Blaze here, while he, Dialga and Celebi came here their own way…"

"Whoa!" Chris was suddenly sitting up very straight. "Are you kidding? Dialga and Palkia are _here_, _now_?"

"Yes. They're staying hidden while they investigate to find out more about what's going to happen. Celebi is also helping and delivering any news to us they might have." More to Chris: "_She's_ the Pokémon who told me that my human self was in this city."

Chris's eyes widened.

Leo continued: "Our mission is to try and prevent what's going to happen."

"And…it has to do with the disruptions around us…?"

"That's what Dialga thinks," Leo confirmed to his human self. "How did he put it…"

"He said it was like they were becoming unbalanced," Blaze said.

"Right, the distortions around us felt like they were becoming unbalanced somehow. Again, he didn't know if that was the cause, though."

Suddenly snapping his fingers, "Wait, what was that thing you said you had, Mr. Hanson, that thing you detected Leo's arrival with?" Chris asked. "The thing that detected the distortions?"

"A DV detector. Dimensional Variation detector. We built it about three years ago."

"And you said these mirrored distortions around the two of you are like sort of dimensional, right?" Chris furthered, directing this question to Leo.

"That's what Dialga said," Leo answered, not sure what the human was getting at. Neither was Blaze, judging from his puzzled expression.

Chris continued, but to Leo Hanson again: "So, if you have the ability to detect these dimensional distortions…and there's supposed to be a problem with these dimensional distortions in the future…uh, pardon if this isn't any of my business, but what's that detector for?"

With shock, Leo thought he realized Chris's line of thought. The one memory he had with that silver ring…why was that object feeling familiar all of a sudden? Addressing his human self, "Are you doing something with dimensions?"


	9. Chapter 9: Project DG

**Chapter 9: Project DG**

Pokémon varied in intelligence, some being a fair amount smarter than others. But this swampert… If there was any doubt this Pokémon was him, its ability to grasp what it had just been talking about was rapidly removing it. And…if this blue and white finned creature truly was him, and their pasts diverged three years prior, then he would already have considerable knowledge about dimensions and space…and the project.

"You should know," Leo Hanson finally answered his Pokémon counterpart. "We started the project six years ago."

Instead, the swampert grimaced, "I'm sorry, but I still remember almost nothing about my days as a human."

Sighing, he now had to weigh just how much to tell everyone. The project had been secret for so long, it was hard to divulge it to those he'd only just met. That and he wasn't one-hundred percent convinced the swampert's story was true, despite so many things about it seeming logical and being indeed possible (apart from being turned into a Pokémon, but what did he know of the abilities of Pokémon on a different planet?)

On the other hand, how much of a real secret was the project anymore? With Derganio Corporation presumably breathing down their backs and its parade of representatives walking in, far more people knew about it than there was supposed to be originally. And if the project was in any way responsible for some disaster that was going to happen, especially considering they were dealing with something having a chance of unintended consequences…

"Alright, fine, but I want to make clear it's a secret civilian project, so you can't go off telling _anyone_ about it. Understand? That includes all Pokémon present, too." Even those who couldn't speak human could still spread word among other Pokémon, leading to unknown consequences! After getting either verbal or visual assurances all around: "We're building a dimensional gate."

"A gate…with dimensions?" Chris looked and sounded somewhat confused. "What is that?"

Leo noted both the swampert and his infernape partner suddenly perking up. "We call it the DG Project. The idea is to create a spatial, or _dimensional_ portal, to travel nearly instantaneously from one place to another over great distances by utilizing a shortcut through another dimension. Very experimental, but early bench tests were successful."

"You mean something like travel half-way across the world?" Chris asked, obviously amazed.

"Or further. Much further. In fact…Leo, you said you and Grovyle traveled from this world to the Poké world some unknown number of light-years away? If what you told us is true, then at some point in that other future it means we got that gate working."

* * *

With his human self offering to host them for a while, Chris left to retrieve their belongs from the hotel, leaving Leo time to pad around the house. _His_ house. So many things felt familiar, yet the memory of them was always just somehow out of reach. It was haunting.

Blaze looked over things with him, occasionally pointing out something he thought interesting. Leo smiled as his friend picked up a weird looking cap with the emblem of a Pokéball on it and tried it on, making him look slightly more human.

"It was a gift from mom," Leo Hanson said from where he had apparently been watching silently. "Back when I was twelve and just starting out as a trainer."

He could feel it…the motion of whipping out a Pokéball from his belt, holding it out in front of him, and… Holding his head with his good hand, he grimaced in practically willing to remember more, but couldn't. "No…"

"Hey, take it easy Leo," Blaze said, holding his shoulder.

Coming over, his human self removed the hat from Blaze's head to fit it as best as possible over his blue one. Smiling and pointing to a wall mirror, "There, it kind of fits."

Leo gazed at himself. Other than by water reflection, he didn't get the opportunity to really look at himself till he came to this human world. The view that greeted him this time was one of the cap looking ridiculously out of place partly scrunched between his purple head fins. How truly much he had changed, he realized in a new light as his other self appeared behind him in the reflection.

"Back when I was a trainer, I sometimes wondered what it would be like to be a Pokémon. I guess in that other future, I find out…perhaps."

"You believe us then?" Leo asked.

His human self sighed, eventually shrugging. "Let's just say I can't think of any faults in what you said. But…it's a lot to take it for one day. It's a fantastic story no matter how you look at it."

So he needed more proof. "That dimensional gate, is it a large silver ring, the outside of which is slightly smaller than the width of this room?"

With a quick turn around: "You saying you _do_ remember then?"

"Just a few fragments. Very few."

Leo Hanson looked about to say something more, but Chris returned at that moment, happily unloading the heavy pack off his back containing all their belongings.

Hoping it would serve as just a little more proof, Leo took the opportunity to show everyone the coins they had brought from their world.

"So this is actually money from the world of Pokémon," Chris said, giving the coins a new look over, clearly enthralled now.

Leo Hanson's face was less readable, as was Grovyle's.

"Small steps," Blaze commented.

Being late in the evening, he soon retired with Chris and Blaze to the guest bedroom his human self set up for them, but found himself restless and silently left for the roof. Apparently also unable to sleep, Blaze got up and followed. A slight breeze greeted them on the patio, bringing to them once again all the still-new smells of the human city around them.

"Long day," Blaze said while they stood at the railing near the edge of the roof, staring out over the huge city around them and it's myriad of lights everywhere.

In fact, it was light enough on it's own to not need the light of the now half-moon above them. In a lot of ways it was just like Jade River city, but this city was in a deeper valley with some high hills surrounding it. "It was," Leo answered. He was tired with the pain medication he was taking seemingly enhancing it, but his mind was too busy to allow him any rest just yet.

"Your human self is nice," Blaze commented. "His manner and personality is like yours."

"Even with me being a swampert? I would think as a swampert, I'd have a different personality. Even the same Pokémon evolving can get a different personality."

Blaze shrugged while brushing part of his mane back over his shoulder. "Maybe there's more human in you then you know. Maybe I haven't told you, but I always thought you didn't quite act like a typical Pokémon. You just always seemed a little different, and it was consistent right through your evolutions."

"You can take the boy out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the boy."

Cocking his head, "Huh? What does that mean?"

Leo froze for a moment, wondering what he just said. "Um…must be something humans say."

"Perhaps what Uxie did is having some effect then?" a high-pitched voice said.

He looked instantly with Blaze to the small trees on the roof. A face with large blue eyes was peering out from one of them, soon revealing a light green body to go with it as it moved out of the thickest part of the thin branches with a slight rustle. "Hello again, Leo, Blaze!"

"Celebi!" Blaze greeted. "How long were you there?"

"Just since the sun went down. I've actually watched all of you since sunset from a building over there," pointing behind her. "If you hadn't been on this roof, it would have been a lot longer before I found you! So, who are those two humans…and that nice looking Grovyle? Is one of those humans Chris, the one you were staying with in the other city?"

"Yes, the sand haired one is Chris," Blaze replied.

"And that grovyle is the very one we've been looking for."

Celebi was silent for a half moment, only beating her wings to stay afloat in front of them, her eyes widening. "Then that other human…"

"He's Leo Hanson, my human self," Leo announced.

"You…_found_ him!" Twirling around a couple times, she flew over him before settling between his head fins with a small plop, like she had a couple days before. "By the way, why are you wearing that silly white thing on your arm?"

"It's a cast; he broke that arm in a battle," Blaze answered, his tone still holding some surprise at the whole thing.

Her voice conveying shock: "Broke your arm…broke the bone?"

"Yes," Leo answered. Together with Blaze, he gave her the short summary of everything since they last saw her.

"Well, this is certainly news I should tell Dialga and Palkia!" responding as soon as they finished. "Humans making a portal to traverse space through another dimension…could that have something to do with the disaster?"

"I don't know," Leo replied, the same thought occurring to him ever since his human self described it in a little more detail. "You know what, Blaze? I haven't told him about the visions I had after we came here yet. They could be important." With a tickle, he felt Celebi suddenly sitting up on him.

"What visions? Has the Dimensional Scream been working since you got here?"

He quickly told her of the two visions he'd had, the fear he felt from the second renewing in him, though not quite to the extent it had previously. "That last one still scares me."

"I wonder if he has been having any?" Blaze asked. "Your human self has the same ability, right?"

"Why don't you ask him now?" Celebi said.

"He's asleep," Blaze pointed out.

"No, he's up here."

"Huh?" Turning about with Blaze, he spotted his human self's head appear in the stairwell, along with Grovyle's.

Leo Hanson stopped short of the last step, though. "Oh…you're up here," he said. Then pointing toward Leo: "What's that on your head?"

Lifting herself back up, Celebi quickly flew over to him. "Hello, Leo."

But it was in Poke language. "She says hello," Leo translated. "This is Celebi."

His human self's voice seemed to catch.

"_You're_ the legendary Celebi?" Grovyle asked with widening green eyes and gape.

With a broad smile spreading across her petite face: "I don't know about 'legendary', and I am one of several." With a short movement, she rotated halfway around Grovyle, not losing her smile any.

"The time traveling Pokémon?" his human self finally got out, stumbling up the last step. With mouth open, he backed up from her a little, before walking to Leo and Blaze. "She…_she_ is _the_ Celebi you were talking about?"

"She is," Leo told him.

"Uh…wow." He glanced again at her, like making sure he was seeing right. "Suppose I'll be meeting Dialga and Palkia next, then, huh?"

"Maybe," Celebi said, moving herself over to him only as Grovyle did. "That dimensional portal you're trying to create is bound to get their attention, considering." Facing Leo and Blaze, "You said you did tell them everything?"

"Yes," Leo answered, before translating Celebi's first sentence for his human self's benefit, and then noting him looking suddenly uncomfortable.

"Well look, please answer this: is what we're doing the cause of this looming disaster I've been hearing about?"

Celebi leaned to the side a little in mid-air, closer to Grovyle than anyone else and earning a suspicious look from the green Pokémon. "I don't know. Palkia would be the expert on that." Straightening herself out, "And I bet you're the Grovyle I've heard all sorts of stories about."

With her back to them, Leo couldn't see her face, but he could guess what was going on. In the Future That No Longer Exists, she appeared to have feelings for him, although she tried masking them. Of course that future was gone, but could she be feeling the same way about him all over?

The green Pokémon appeared to be at a loss for a moment. Finally: "What have you heard?" asking guardedly while glancing to both Leo and Blaze.

"All good things!" she replied hastily. "You're handsome, by the way…"

Leo decided to translate Celebi's answer to his human self's last question, partly to keep her 'on topic' in case she was thinking of taking thing a little 'further'. "She said she doesn't know, but Palkia might be able to tell us."

Turning back around, "I will have to travel back to Palkia and tell him right away." She paused, glancing several times between him and his human self. "It's so strange…seeing you both here; you're the same person, yet different individuals." Then snickering, "You turned out so different with just one little change to the timeline!"

"It wasn't exactly a _little_ change," Blaze added.

"Oh, I suppose. A complete freezing of time in one, and complete normality in the other." Shrugging, "Sure would be neat to see multiple futures like Dialga can. Speaking of him, I need to go. And is this going to be your home for a while?"

"I think so," Leo replied. Actually, he hoped so. Perhaps the more he stayed, the better chance he would start remembering his old life.

"Of course, it is _your_ home." With a light-hearted high-pitched laugh and a long, considering look to Grovyle, she was off into the city-lit darkness with a quiet rapid beat of her wings.

"So…what did she say?" his human self asked, the quick gust of wind from her departure having blown around some of his light brown hair.

"That she has to go tell Dialga and Palkia about what's going on," electing not to go over what else she said. "And let me guess, you couldn't sleep either."

His human self smirked after walking up next to him at the edge of the roof and it's railing, looking out across the city. "Pretty much." Then with a half chuckle: "Guess you of anyone would know me, huh? Hell, you _are_ me. Or so you claim. Damn, this is going to take some getting used to. Still can't say I fully understand or believe it. Just getting used to a Pokémon that can talk is hard enough."

"Do you believe me too?" Leo asked Grovyle, who had also padded up to the railing on the other side of his human self.

"If he believes you," he replied, moving his head up to indicate his human self. "Then I will."

It was as much as he could have hoped for.

"We missed you," Blaze said. "I know you didn't live through those events from the other future, but the Grovyle I met and worked with, he was you. I only wished you could have been brought back like Leo."

"Then there would be two of me too. I get the sense that isn't normal." He smiled, barely.

"Neither is changing timelines, according to Dialga," Leo added, having the same wish as his partner about having wanted Grovyle back like himself. Unfortunately, Dialga explained he was limited to making only one exception. Any more would have created unacceptable risk of the time fabric unraveling…or something like that.

Gripping the railing a little tighter, his human self seemed to pause with his mouth open, then: "Leo, you mentioned this 'Dimensional Scream' ability we have. I think that explains these visions I get occasionally, but…I've been having a number of them lately."

Leo gave his human self his sudden, full attention. "What visions?"

* * *

Leo Hanson wasn't entirely sure he should be divulging what he seen. But after what the swampert described about the Dimensional Scream ability, who better to understand? Not to mention it was himself, really, he was supposedly talking to.

"Visions centered around the dimensional gate we're building," he finally answered. "I've been seeing things…going wrong. And not just with our project, but I think I saw something from the past, like another gate someone else was experimenting with. What I saw…" He grew his lips drew tight in reconsidering; should he really tell them this? "…scared me. I think they got this other gate working, at least enough to open a portal, but something must have gone wrong…not sure what, but perhaps something came through. It was killing people as they were running screaming in terror, setting fire to… "

He stopped on hearing the infernape gasp loudly before quickly saying something to the swampert.

"…and it was always hidden behind something or flames, never able to get a good look, but you felt a terrible fear," the blue water-type Pokémon whispered.

His mouth stopped in forming his next word, feeling shock like a thunderbolt from an electivire. "What?" How could he know?

"I think I…had the same vision yesterday," the swampert continued, wide-eyed as if the same thunderbolt struck him also. "It was the vision that got my arm broken in the middle of a battle."

Was it…could it be? "When did you have the vision? What time?"

"It was in the morning."

"I shook his hand in the morning, then I had the vision…"

* * *

"You got those visions even though you hadn't touched anything; what if it was because _he_ had touched something to trigger them?" Blaze said, pointing to the human Leo. "Is it possible the two of you are _sharing_ the visions?"

Leo had no answer. He didn't even know what the Dimension Scream was exactly, much less how it really worked. "You touched someone, and then you had that vision?" wanting to make sure he got it straight.

"There were a couple of representatives from the Derganio Corporation visiting yesterday morning," his human self answered. "We introduced ourselves and shook hands. Seconds later I had the vision. This one man, he had some old scars on his hand that looked like severe burns." He got a questioning expression, as if wondering if he was making the same connection.

Leo thought he did. "You think he was one of those you saw in the vision?"

"I think I remember seeing his face. Black haired, maybe forty years of age. He appeared to be behind glass, maybe in some kind of control room."

He struggled to remember some of the details in the vision he'd just as soon as forget. "The lights went out…and then it was only the fires I could see."

His human self nodded.

"So someone did survive that," wishing at once Celebi would've stuck around a little longer so he could tell her of this.

After eyeing each of them intently, "Maybe we should talk to this human," Blaze suggested. "Maybe he could tell us a lot."

Leo certainly agreed with his friend in voicing it to his human self.

"Yeah, I was actually going to do that yesterday, but they left before I got the chance. But you're right…uh, Blaze. But could what we saw that happened in the past have a bearing on what going to happen?"

Leo also really wished Dialga was there.

Continuing: "Maybe it has no relevance at all, but I have to believe we saw that vision for a reason."

Although Grovyle was remaining silent, he watched both him and Blaze and him as if expecting an answer, as was his human self. If only he did have all the answers; all he knew was in every case they either investigated or trusted the visions, they provided real benefits at some point, if not immediately. "What is 'Derganio Corporation'?" since his human self mentioned the one human was a 'representative' from it.

"The source of money," Grovyle said dryly.

"Sponsors of our project," Leo Hanson answered. "They're an energy and transportation company, hoping that the dimensional portal will be a new line of business for them. Imagine a whole network of gates around the world. No need for large jetliners or long road trips. Just step in a gate and you're instantly where you want to be, now matter where on the globe that is."

"Sounds…interesting," Blaze commented, leaning up against the railing after moving his long mane out of the way. "Palkia would be out of business." Although it sounded funny, the infernape wasn't laughing.

"Leo is one of the lead researchers on it," Grovyle added. "Which means you were also, if your claims are true."

And Grovyle was surely right. "But I don't remember much of it at all," Leo insisted. "If Palkia knew of this gate, he might come here himself to have a look, though." Or at least, should he hope so?

* * *

Leo Hanson shook his head at all of it, collapsing into one of the patio chairs and burying his head in his hands for a moment. This was all too much! Did he really accept that an alternate form of himself was here with him? Could he find any logical reason for disproving it? The rational part of him desperately wanted to, yet the more adventurous side actually found the idea intriguing! But the facts had to stand on their own.

"What's wrong?" the swampert asked as he approached.

Lifting his head slightly to look at him, "Well, let's see: I get up this morning, then get news that the swampert with the dimensional distortion we're looking for is at the gym. I go there, find you, discover to my amazement that you can _talk_ and that you've also been looking for me. I bring you here, where you proceed to tell me about Dialga and Palkia, two formally fictional Pokémon nobody has even claimed to see in millennia, are now here as was Celebi. You go into time travel, talk about changing the past and that you're an alternate form of myself that was somehow transformed into a swampert. _Now_ I find out we're sharing the same visions, which you call some 'Dimensional Scream' thing. To top it all off, you've come here from a different planet because there's some impending disaster looming, which the project I'm part of may be the cause of."

He paused, wondering if he was even scratching the surface of his overwhelmed feeling. "Excuse me if I'm starting to find it a bit much. I'm tired, my head hurts, and I don't think I can take any more surprises at this point." Really, just how much more of his world could be turned upside down? Maybe he shouldn't even be asking…

"Gro, grovyle?" Grovyle leaned close, apparently asking something. If only _he_ could talk!

"He's asking if you need some water and rest," the swampert said, clearly concerned in his tone.

He…didn't know what he needed right then. Actually, not true. He needed a pain reliever, a sleep aid, and about a couple days of uninterrupted sleep while having the luxury of forgetting everything he'd been told that day!

"I'm sorry," the swampert continued. "Maybe I shouldn't have explained everything at once. I discovered or was told all this over three years; you got everything in only a day. It'll take time."

"Time… Do we have any?" he asked. If there was some looming disaster, time had to be running out.

"I don't know. I'm hoping Dialga will be able to sense if we're getting close to whatever it is."

Dialga again… He was having a hard time getting over that that Pokémon was supposed to be a myth! And that thought only served to worsen his rapidly growing headache. He groaned.

Feeling Grovyle tugging on him, and got up and made his way for the stairs. His green friend was right – he really needed rest. Maybe by morning things would be clearer. Or not.

* * *

Leo watched his human self disappear down the stairs with Grovyle, wondering if he made a big mistake. Lowering his head at perhaps such, "I shouldn't have told him so much today."

"He was asking questions; he would've made you tell him everything anyway," Blaze said, coming alongside him from the railing. "That's just how you are, asking questions, wanting to know everything."

Noting his friend's smile, "Is that good or bad?"

He shrugged. "I've always thought it to be a good quality about you. Just like your bravery. After all, I had to get it from someone."

"You always had it, Blaze. Since even before we met; you only needed to realize it."

"If that's true, you made me do that. But it was only through your strength I got stronger." He fell silent as the light gust of wind blew over the rooftop, ruffling his hair and especially his red and yellow mane. "Ha! Your human self is just like you of course; he's just as strong – I can see it. And you know what? I had only been alive for a few years before we met, but you'd been alive for many more years as that human. I feel lucky to now meet this human. If we had met with you still as your human self, I'm sure we would've become friends just like we are now."

Leo felt touched. "Well, I'm sure things would've turned out a little differently in that case. If I had remained human when we met, do you think Wigglytuff would've accepted us into the Guild?"

Blaze stood up a little more, his red face deadpan. "I really don't know. But would you have wanted to join in that case? It was your memory loss that prompted you to want to met him in the first place. Maybe I even might have forgotten the idea, if you had told me what your mission was."

"And of course, I probably wouldn't have been able to understand a word you said."

"Hm. Good point. But I would've understood you."

"Yes, I guess you would have. Most Pokémon here seem to have a built-in understanding of human language for some reason."

"You know what," Blaze continued with more of a grin, "since I had never heard of the last time a human came to the planet, you actually might have been a celebrity, of sorts. Just like Dusknoir was – until we all found out the truth about him."

Another breeze stirred, prompting both of them to look up. With the help of the glow of the city's lights, it was easy to see half the sky had become obscured.

If's and maybe's. So many possibilities, so many outcomes. Change one little thing, and an entirely different future results. He wondered if that's what Dialga saw…if he saw all the possibilities, all dependant on the tiniest of events. It must be maddening if he did.

He noticed Blaze was starting to look very weary, reminding him of his own fatigue. Still, he couldn't stop worrying he was handling everything right.

"Come on, Leo," Blaze finally said as he started heading for the stairs, wrapping his tail around his wrist and giving him a tug. "You've worried enough for one night. You need rest too."

As he sometimes did, his friend read his thoughts.

* * *

Being Saturday, no alarm woke Leo Hanson. The sleep aid helped, but he was still feeling tired; it was early, there were dark clouds outside from which a steady rain was falling, and his mind was already going over the past day's events. Could it have been a dream? Certainly didn't feel like one.

So, what was he going to do? Was there anything _to_ do? Seriously, did he really believe everything that swampert told him – a talking swampert? Unfortunately, it was the same answer as he had last night: although seemingly unbelievable and more like science fiction, he simply couldn't see anything to contradict his story. The scant evidence he had actually supported it.

Rolling onto his side with a quiet moan, he found it very difficult to believe there was another him around just the same. Did it make it any better that he was in the form of a Pokémon?

Perhaps…it did, a little…

On the floor next to his bed, Grovyle stirred. His green form barely moved, but he opened his bright green eyes enough to stare back up at him. They stayed that way for a little while, Leo slowly feeling himself become a little more alive. "So, what _would_ you do if I suddenly became a Pokémon?" finally asking rhetorically.

Grovyle blinked a few times. "_Groo_vyle," the half-shrug indicating his answer more than his voice.

Well, maybe there was one thing he should do. Actually, with everyone gone for the weekend, it could be the perfect time… Making the decision, he got himself out of bed and into the shower before his other normal morning hygiene tasks. A flush from the guest bathroom on the floor below told of others being up, and he rushed in finishing in order to get some breakfast going. He found Grovyle had beat him to it though once he got to the kitchen, seeing boiling water in the microwave, bowls and oatmeal set out, toast in the toaster and eggs cooking on the stove.

"Grovyle, you are a wonder," he said appreciatively just before Chris, Blaze and Leo arrived from upstairs.

"Grovyle!" his friend returned.

"Good morning," he greeted his guests, each returning the same - in unintelligible Poké language in the infernape's case.

"How's your head?" the swampert asked.

"Better," Leo Hanson replied truthfully, his headache completely gone, fortunately. He was hoping to keep it that way for at least a while by thinking about yesterday as little as possible during breakfast, but he would need to tell them where they were going that morning soon enough.

* * *

Leo never thought of Grovyle as the "domestic" type. The Grovyle he had known was a gritty Pokémon dedicated to completing his mission no matter the cost, and more than willing to get down and dirty in the task. In the absence of the events that made the Future That No Longer Exists, this version of him was serving them breakfast in his human self's kitchen. It was hard to fathom!

It was a good breakfast, too. Although he apparently ate oatmeal, eggs and toast with butter before as a human, he had no recollection of it and such items mostly didn't exist on the Poké world.

Chris talked out his plans for the rest of his vacation while they ate, which included entering in the League Championships in another week as the last week of his vacation (Blaze and himself now figuring prominently in his grand design). But after they finished eating, his human self suggested they visit the lab where they were building the gate.

This excited him, not just for the fact of seeing first-hand such an interesting invention and one that he at least supposedly had a hand in creating, but for other reasons he couldn't quite understand.

Rain greeted them outside; solid, steady light rain. While Blaze didn't like it much, evidenced by his huddling under the umbrella Chris had, Leo loved it. He had to pause every now and then just to enjoy and let it soak into his skin. It was the first time since arriving on the human world that he felt properly moisturized!

"Come on, Leo!" Blaze shouted occasionally to get him going again, obviously in a hurry to get someplace drier.

After another ride on one of the underground moving boxes called a subway (albeit much less crowded then the previous day), they came back above ground in a far less populated area, structure-wise. From there, it was more walking in the rain for some distance before arriving at a large sandstone-like building at the base of fairly high tree-covered hill that loomed up behind it.

"What does it say?" Blaze asked, seeing some words above the doorway.

"University of Pinnacle Valley Derganio Physics Building" Leo translated for him. His human self swiped something to get them inside before leading them down several halls and letting them through yet another set of doors. "Advanced Physics Department", translating the words again for Blaze before he asked.

One more hall, through one last set of doors labeled "Lab 1"…and Leo stopped short. Dead ahead it sat, like right out of his vision: the large, dull-silver ring behind a glass wall.

"Is that it?" Blaze asked. "Is that the ring you saw?"

Leo could only nod.

"Oh, Leo?" a woman's voice called from above them. "What are you doing here; who'd you… _bring? _Oh!"

Looking up, he immediately recognized the owner. "Sally?" he mumbled.

His human self gesturing to the rest of them, "Sally, this is Chris Urbason, his infernape, and the…swampert we've been looking for."

Sally peered down at them for a moment, particularly him, Leo noted, before racing down the steps.

"Hello, nice to finally meet you," she greeted Chris, shaking his hand, then after a few words about the weather: "That's the Pokémon?" she asked, pointing.

"He is," Leo Hanson answered.

They went on, talking about the distortion around him as Leo stared at her intently. Just like when he first saw her photo, he felt…_something_ stir for her, like there was more than mere familiarity about her. She…had implored him…

"So, you are the one, then," she commented, kneeling slightly in front of him.

On impulse, he touched her arm…

_ The portal was open and Grovyle was waiting on the ramp that went through it. Once again the ground shook, causing a several items around them to fall off their benches._

_ "Leo…don't go."_

_ He knew she knew he had to. But she was crying, which made it all the harder to part…in all likelihood for the last time. Reaching around her, he embraced her while stroking her long red hair. He was hurting inside, badly, and was only just able to hold back his own tears; he had to be strong for her. "We have to go. Grovyle and I stand the best chance of any of us. And you must stay here to keep looking for a way to prevent this disaster in case we don't succeed."_

_ "I don't know if I can!"_

_ "If anyone can, it's you. You're the best at this, remember."_

_ She wiped her tears away as they parted, and he followed Grovyle into the portal, getting his last view of her as he looked over his shoulder…_

"Leo?"

Everyone was looking at him.

"The Dimensional Scream?" Blaze asked.

"A memory," he answered.

Sally gasped. "You can talk?"

* * *

"Yes, he can. Long story." Leo Hanson really didn't feel prepared to tell her everything, not yet anyway. He came to the lab only with the expectation of showing his supposed Pokémon counterpart the project, which might have something to do with why he was there, and to allow the DV detector some "close up" observations of him. "So what are you doing here on a Saturday?"

"Just finishing some loose ends before the start of Phase One on Monday," she replied, though it was clear by her expression she wanted to ask questions, not answer them with her eyes fixed on the swampert.

"What's 'Phase One'?" Chris asked.

Sally looked to Leo, as if silently asking if it was alright to tell him.

"Don't worry, I've already told them about the project." He then realized that fact argued he should tell her sooner rather then later about the reason the swampert was here – just how much of the rest of the Pokémon's story should be told was another matter…just so the Pokémon didn't decide to tell her everything on his own. Answering Chris himself, "Phase One marks the start of the full integrated systems testing and burn-in. We just finished construction and initial subsystem checkouts and stress testing, so we're ready to power up everything as a whole and get the first calibration targets set. Like a total diagnostics run."

"Oh," Chris answered in the tone of someone who didn't fully get it.

Sometimes, he really did like talking in near incomprehensible terms to others, as guilty as it should have made him feel. "Well, I brought this Pokémon by so we could get some accurate readings of him. Want to help me set the equipment?"

Sally seemed more than eager in quickly straightening up. "But I want to know how this Pokémon can talk? Wait, does it have anything to do with his distortion?"

"Unlikely." At least directly.

* * *

Leo felt prickly standing on the low platform while Sally was placing small white sticky circles all over his blue and white skin, a wire trailing from each one. A few to his head and head fins, several along his arms, including one on the green-padded area of his right fore-arm.

"What happened to your arm?" she asked, indicating the cast on his left arm while finishing up with his right. "Sorry, I should have asked before. Didn't intend to act inconsiderate."

"It got broke in a match with a Graveler," he answered simply. Mentally, he was counting the days before it could be removed.

"Oh! I've never heard of a Pokémon breaking a bone before. That must have been a really bad blow."

"It was."

With extra care, she placed another white circle on the cast over the spot where his left green (and badly bruised) pad was. Continuing behind him, she placed more down his back, several along the edge of his large rear fin and reaching around him, several more down his stomach. He really didn't mind her touch and occasional brushes at all, but couldn't help but twitch when she got down lower…

"Sorry," she said with a nervous smile. "But I need to form a complete sphere of these sensors around you."

He nodded acceptance, while Blaze appeared suddenly interesting in something on the floor...

She was gentle…and just about everything about her, from her touch to the way she moved, seemed so familiar. Even her smile. He knew her - very well, he was now sure. Just couldn't remember why.

"All done," she announced at last. "Leo, how's it look?" shouting up to the balcony above them.

"Put another couple one on each of his feet," his human self shouted back down, "the calibrations are a little weak there."

Sally complied by placing two on the side of each of his feet before backing up.

"Looks good," Leo Hanson announced. "OK...er, Leo, just stay still there for a few minutes."

With tail twitching and his arms crossed over his white-haired chest, Blaze raised his eyebrows in taking Sally's spot in front of him when she left for the balcony. Then he grinned. "You look…"

"Silly?" Leo proposed. Surly he must, covered with dozens of white spots and wires coming from each and every one going into a large metal box with lots of buttons.

"Ha ha! I was thinking like an elekid's science experiment." Apparently he couldn't take it anymore and finally burst out snickering.

"Lab rat" also came to mind from somewhere, though he couldn't understand the meaning. Must be another remembered human expression, he thought. Sighing, he tried not to move but the humor of the situation wasn't making it easy. "I _could_ ask if they would like to hook you up too. After all, you do have your own distortion around you. I'm sure these sticky white spots would be perfect on your hair, _especially_ when they take them off."

The infernape sobered up fast. "You wouldn't!"

Leo kept his face straight as long as he could while staring back, unblinking, before his smile crept across it.

"Ha ha, very funny," he replied before a slight upturn at the corners of his own mouth.

"Hold still, swamp…I mean Leo," Sally called from above. "It'll be just another minute." Then in a much quieter voice that he probably wasn't intended to hear: "You know Leo, calling you both the same name feels weird."

He barely heard the reply from his human self over the hum from various equipment: "You don't know the half of it yet."

"When were you going to tell the Professor you found him?"

"Later."

"Professor?" Blaze asked, quietly mimicking the name as he cocked his head.

Leo almost shrugged, but remembered he couldn't move. "Don't know," mouthing his reply.

"Alright, we're done!" Sally shouted down and within another moment was in front of him again, removing the sensors from his skin.

Blaze helped, proving to be a little more careful than Sally, but all together they only elicited a half dozen ow's from him. Afterward, she lead them up to the balcony to point to a screen where an irregular orange sphere was displaying.

"That's your dimensional distortion, in all it's detail," Sally announced.

"So that's what one of those things look like?" Chris asked, looking like a chimchar having his first look at strange Unown writings. Which pretty much described Blaze's expression too.

"Well, it's a graphical representation of it," Sally replied. "It's how the computer sees it."

"It's almost identical to mine," Leo Hanson added.

"You told them about that?"

Leo wanted to say their distortions were mirrored, but thought better of it. If his human self hadn't told her everything yet, it was probably best to let him handle how to reveal it.

"I did," Leo Hanson replied.

Tapping several keys, Sally appeared to modify the display some. "Actually…now that we have detailed scans to work from, your distortions are…actually…_virtually_ identical. Slightly different shapes of course, since the two of you are shaped differently physically, but they are otherwise _exactly_ the same except for the slight harmonics difference, which really is a random variable I think." She glanced between each of them, her long red hair reflecting slightly different hues as the light angle changed on it. "Still, we don't know what exactly they are or what's causing them."

Exchanging a knowing glance with his human self, he wondered when he was going to break the news. Judging from Grovyle's expression, he was wondering the same thing.

His human self sighed before standing up. "Well, how about I give you that close up look at the ring I promised?"

Once back down on the main floor, his human self lead them through the huge doors in the glass wall and into the "ring room" as he called it. He had to admit the ring was pretty, gleaming dully under the lights. At least four times his height, the center looked wide enough to allow even Dialga himself through it, provided he ducked a little. But it was more than just pretty – it was also familiar…had meaning…felt like it was drawing him…

Moving closer, he placed his three-fingered blue hand on it. It had a hard, smooth feel, save for the joints between panels. He knew then: a good portion of his life when he was still human had indeed been spent making it.

A human hand touched the ring near his. "She sure is a thing of beauty, isn't she?" his human self said with a certain meaning in his tone. "Six years spent in building it. And we're almost ready to fire her up for the first time. Isn't she incredible?"

Leo noted a certain…expression about him as he looked at it. And he felt it too…excitement, wonder, passion, the desire to learn about the unknown…

"Would the three of you like to be alone?"

Turning, Leo found Sally with her hands across her chest and wearing a wry smile. Grovyle, Blaze and Chris likewise seemed rather amused. He was about to return some remark when he started feeling it…a fast approaching faintness while his vision began clouding. Then all at once, there were two familiar dragon-type Pokémon in front of him, along with one human…


	10. Chapter 10: Revealing, Seeking

_Author's note: I just wanted to take a quick moment to thank everyone for reading so far and taking the time to give the great reviews and encouragement. I hope you continue to enjoy the story as it progresses. It's also really fun to read the speculation about what will be happening next!_

* * *

**Chapter 10: Revealing, Seeking**

Two dragon-like Pokémon, one sliver-blue and the other white, were standing before the ring just outside the glass wall. But their way was blocked by…a human? The two dragons started attacking the human, one rearing back to bring froth it's clawed foot, the other launching a white beam from it's shield…

Leo Hanson caught himself by grabbing the ring just before losing his balance, the swampert appearing to do the same.

The infernape yelled something in rushing to the swampert's side, while Grovyle and Sally were just as quickly at his own. "I'm fine; it was just another vision," standing perfectly steady and seemingly satisfying them.

Sally looked between him and the swampert and after a moment, "Did…you both have it?"

"It was Dialga and Palkia" the swampert said. "They will be here or have been here."

"Those two dragon Pokémon were _them?_" Through the pure shock of 'seeing' the two mythological Pokémon, Leo also wanted to make sense of it. He was certain the Pokémon hadn't been there already (they would have been noticed along with tripping a few alarms!), which meant they _would_ be? His counterpart mentioned Palkia might take interest in the ring, but…who were they fighting? A mere _human?_ He hadn't recognized him…

Chris stared back blankly as the infernape said something to the swampert. "What just happened? Palkia and Dialga? Are you saying you _saw_ them?"

"I think we had the same vision," Leo answered him. "It was that Dimensional Scream, right?"

The swampert nodded.

"You both had the same vision at the same time?" Sally asked. Pointing between the two of them, "You have the same distortion and you share the same visions, you even have the same names… That's a few too many coincidences! What's going on, Leo? Do you know something you aren't telling me?"

Of all the team members, he trusted her more than anyone else. "Actually…quite a bit." Looking down to his Pokémon counterpart, "You up to telling that story of yours again? The abbreviated version this time?"

"How much does she already know?" the blue and white Pokémon asked.

"As much as I knew before we met, which only includes the visions I had."

"This will be fun," he replied humorlessly, his infernape friend adding a "Yeep yeep."

* * *

Leo grabbed a handful of the chocolates out of the glass bowl, popping them in his mouth and savoring the melting sweetness while the human female stayed speechless for a good long moment.

Eventually, the long red-haired human seemed to 'unfreeze': "You…and this swampert, are the same…person?" asking his human self. "From an _alternate_ future?"

His human self nodded, "Hard to believe, I know. But look at all the evidence: same first name, same distortion, same visions…same taste for chocolate, even."

"And he recognized the two of you and Grovyle when he saw your team photo on the internet a couple days ago," Chris said, pointing to each of them. "That's how we got your work number."

"And I also met Celebi last night," Leo Hanson added.

Sally stared back, mouth slightly open.

Still pretty, Leo thought, with her red hair and green eyes and pleasing complexion… Huh? The feeling of familiarity, of…closeness was stronger then before. Just what kind of relationship did he have with her when he was human? For some reason, the way she and his human self were acting toward each other in this future seemed…wrong…different?

Addressing him directly, "Hold on, if you went back and stopped the collapse, you would eliminate your own existence," Sally pointed out, "since you were changed into a Pokémon in that future. Leo is still human here."

"She's smart," Leo noted to his human self after hearing the same from Blaze. Which he was sure was something he already knew. The comment also earned an annoyed look from Sally.

"Smarter than me most of the time," his human self returned.

He continued telling the events that took them up to saving Temporal Tower from collapse and Dialga bringing him back from non-existence, finishing with "So, that's how I exist in two forms at the same time."

Standing up, Sally went to the balcony railing and looked over on the floor of the lab before turning back around. "Leo, this…is… I don't know how to take this. Do you actually believe all of it?"

Leo Hanson shrugged. "I just can't find any real reason to doubt it. Everything we know so far supports it. And it certainly is plausible, even if it just doesn't appear likely. Except for the part of me turning into a Pokémon, but can I say with certainty that that also isn't possible?"

"You know," Chris started, facing Leo, "ever since I met you, I thought you seemed sort of human in your manner, not to mention you can talk."

"Once being human could explain that, I guess," Grovyle said.

"I also said you were special," Chris continued. "Guess I didn't even know the tip of the iceberg. But now…you know, in a way, this kinda does all make a really weird sense, because you really are human in that swampert body, aren't you?"

"I think you're just a very unique swampert," Blaze added. "As much Pokémon as any other Pokémon."

"Alright, so if you started out here, _Leo_," Sally said, facing him rather than his human self, "on this planet, then how did you get to that Pokémon planet, and how did you return back here?"

His human self answered instead: "I think in that alternate timeline, he and Grovyle got there with our dimensional gate," pointing down below to the said large object. "I think we actually got it working then. But I'll let him tell you how he got back here."

Leo did and more, going into the dreams and visions he'd been having since before he and Blaze left the Poké world up to the present, and explaining the looming disaster Dialga sensed coming.

Sally turned away from them, waving off his human self when he approached her after she hadn't responded for a while. "Just give me a moment to comprehend all this."

Chris shook his head, reaching for a chocolate himself. "You know guys, it is a little much to take in all at once. I guess I'm not fully convinced either. You got to admit…"

Leo felt a quick wave of déjà vu. The way Sally was leaning on the railing, looking out over the lab… He'd seen that exact pose before. Something about…when they discovered where the time-space…distortions were originating from…?

_"From another planet?" she asked, facing the gate down below them._

_ "And one of us has to go there."_

_ Turning around, "But this gate isn't ready yet!" she pointed out, her green eyes widening. "We only just started testing it. To send anyone through now would be…"_

_ "I know," he answered. He was afraid of telling her who he had already had in mind to go; who _had_ to go, but it was apparent in her eyes she already knew. For whatever time they had left together, he didn't want to break her heart any sooner than he had to. "But we've seen the readings from the detectors. At the rate those distortion waves are increasing, I don't think we have another month to wait. We're just incredibly lucky we even have the gate as ready as it is…"_

"This disaster is in the future you said," Sally said, facing everyone with an expression now full of thought, "and the dimensional distortions around you either have something to do with it or…are a symptom of it?"

Leo shook off the memory to answer with a nod, but he couldn't help but keep looking at her. She was…quite pretty. The remembered feel of her…

"Could this gate have something to do with it as well?" she asked. "It does work by creating a portal through another dimension, which could affect anything sensitive to dimensional fluctuations, in theory. And those visions you had about this gate…have they indicated what exactly will happen to cause it?"

* * *

Leo Hanson wasn't sure by reasoning things through if she was accepting everything he and his counterpart had just finished telling her or not. Over having worked with her side-by-side for the last six years, he'd learned she could shove aside personal doubts and work through something logically, letting things play through and the conclusions dictate whether it was truth or not.

His counterpart seemed to take a long moment before shaking his blue-finned and green-gilled head. "They haven't, and Dialga said he doesn't know what will cause it or what the disaster will be."

For some reason, the swampert was staring at her. Was he having trouble following her logic? Even though they were the same person, he also was a Pokémon, for whatever effect that would have his thought processes. "But the visions we had of something going wrong in Phase Two, with all those different people in it, there must be a connection. And this last vision, we both saw those…legendary Pokémon, _here_."

"Dialga and Palkia," his counterpart corrected.

"…and some _human _they started to attack. I think I'm really starting to believe this gate could have something to do this unknown disaster." So much now, that: "We should maybe think about postponing this project, do a top-to-bottom review of everything, go back over every equation, and reconsider every possibility, and think about everything that _could_ go wrong."

He expected an argument from Sally. Instead: "Two mythological Pokémon involved. Time and space… To be truthful, we have been rushing things a little more than I like. But…I don't know if the Professor would allow it; Derganio may not like it either. I mean, we have been careful up to now, or so we thought." Frowning with a sigh, she appeared really tired all of the sudden. "You know, we're going to have to tell the rest of the team what's going on."

That, he knew, would eventually come. "You're right. We better tell everyone first thing Monday." At least he knew Sally would probably side with him. And if the two most senior members of the team were in agreement, they could probably get George, Naomi and Ticonamo on board too. That left Professor Werner as the real wildcard, and it would be his decision. More evidence would certainly help in swaying him…

Facing his swampert self, "Leo, it would really help if we had a more definitive answer on what this disaster is and what will cause it. Any chance of…" He even surprised himself in what he was about to ask, but there was a certain amount of selfishness to it. "…well, maybe having Dialga himself, or Palkia, come here and talk to us? Ah, assuming they can talk, that is." Indeed, he wouldn't mind meeting such mythical creatures one bit!

The swampert exchanged glances and several words with his infernape friend. If he read his counterpart's expression right, he didn't look very hopeful.

"If Celebi visits us again before then, I can ask her to relay the message," he finally answered.

Oh, of course! "Wait, maybe if Celebi could be here, that might help our case too. Could we ask her?"

"Grovyle, grooovyle."

From his partner's tone, he figured he must have agreed with his suggestion after the swampert nodded quickly.

"So I might be meeting these _three_ mythical Pokémon in _one day_?" Sally asked with a note of cautious awe.

"Yeah, I haven't met even Celebi yet, guys," Chris said to both Leo and Blaze in a slightly mocking hurt tone. "I'd like to be around the next time she comes."

The swampert sighed.

* * *

Since they all now knew everything, there really was no reason why they all couldn't met her. Leo just hoped Celebi would agree to the meeting his human self wanted. He could see how her mere presence could lend a little weight to their story. But would postponing the dimensional gate project prevent or delay the disaster? His human self was right – they needed to know what, if anything, the project had to do with it, and at the moment Dialga and Palkia had the best chance of knowing that. But to get them to appear in front of a group of humans…

He had doubts. Dialga was likely right in that his presence would be disruptive, given the talk about him being mythical and all. Even around other Pokémon on the Poké world he had quite an affect. Around humans…from what he'd observed of them so far, he could imagine a number of unfavorable outcomes. But if they did appear, the lab seemed about the only room big enough that could hold either of them.

Sally stayed behind to take care of a few things, while the rest of them left for home. The rain had stopped by the time they got back outside, leaving only a soaked ground, a grey overcast sky and cool air. Even the thick stand of trees that surrounded the building on three sides was still dripping wet.

Falling along side him on their way back to the subway, Blaze was looking at him curiously. "Leo, you acted distracted in there. Was something wrong or were you remembering more?"

Distracted? Maybe he was. "I was starting to remember things…about her." More than just sterile memories though; feelings too. But how could he describe them, and was he certain about what he felt? "I think she…meant a lot to me when I was human."

His partner returned an even longer stare now, his mane puffing a little as cocked his head.

Her look, when they parted for the last time…the tears… Wait! Could it be? Could it be anything else? "I think we were in love."

Blaze's eyes went wide before he nearly tripped on the sidewalk. In front of them, Grovyle glanced backward before giving his human self a long, considering stare.

Neither said anything for the rest of the way.

* * *

Leo Hanson provided a late lunch when they arrived back at his place, which everyone started diving into like a pack of hungry mightyenas with very little talking. Except for him and Chris making small talk in the presence of other passengers, there actually had been little talking since they left the lab. This struck him as a little odd, since the two Pokémon Leo and Blaze seemed to always be chatting, at least since he first met them yesterday. Even Grovyle seemed more quiet than normal.

It didn't completely surprise him though. They all had more than enough things to think about given the last day and a half.

"Nothing to do but wait till Monday," Leo noted for everyone's benefit after they all finished the last morsel of lunch; he started cleaning up while contemplating what to do for entertainment. Chris, though, was looking longingly out the window on the opposite side of the kitchen, where the overcast sky was finally starting to let a few occasional shafts of sunlight through. Eventually with a grimace: "Given everything that's going on, I feel I should be sticking around instead of wanting to get some battling practice in. The Pokémon League competition kinda pales in importance."

Leo felt a little guilty for having him feel the weight of what was going on since he didn't have anything to do with any of it and really, what could he do anyway? The Pokémon competition was the reason he came to Pinnacle Valley. "No, you should go practice. If you don't mind an audience, I wouldn't mind coming to watch. We really don't have anything else to do for a while, and I know I wouldn't mind the distraction. What do you think Grovyle?"

"Grovyle!"

Now smiling, "Well, Blaze, Leo, would you mind some practice?" the blonde-haired trainer asked. "If things stay quiet, maybe we still can enter the competition. Of course Leo, I'll appreciate any suggestions you have during the battles just like before since you can't battle yourself yet."

The swampert and infernape talked between themselves for a moment, before the former answered, "Of course we'll continue to help you. You need not even ask."

Leo noted something in the swampert's tone that spoke of gratitude, and Chris's smile became just a little broader.

"Thanks, guys. That means a lot." To him: "Do you know where the nearest park is where trainers go to have practice matches?"

* * *

Leo stood by Blaze, who was sitting hunched on a bench right behind Chris, and watched with him as the human conducted a battle with Pikachu. The sky was still slowly clearing late in the afternoon, trees rustling around them as a slightly warm breeze kept any bugs away. The air was still moist enough that it still felt really nice, at least to him.

That morning's vision still puzzled him, though. Who was it that Dialga and Palkia were going to fight, and right in front of the dimensional ring no less? The vision hadn't been long enough for him to get much of a feeling from it, though he thought he sensed the human wasn't…nice. Well, if he was taking on both Dialga and Palkia, then he certainly couldn't be a good human…could he?

Nor smart, for that matter. If Dialga and Palkia had it on their minds to eliminate a human, what human could stop them? Virtually no Pokémon he knew or heard of could withstand their combined power either.

Who was he? The human had very light, almost white, long hair and a long face with almost delicate features. If his human self didn't recognize him, then it wasn't anyone who was working on the DG project. His human self also said it wasn't anyone he'd met from Derganio either, just in case they might be suspect.

Probably did him little good to riddle on it. His human self was far better able to investigate that part of the vision. For his own part, he intended to relay a number of questions to Dialga and Palkia the next time Celebi visited.

"Good hit, Pikachu!" Chris shouted, getting Leo's attention for a moment. On the field, the Pikachu was panting, but his houndour opponent was just getting herself back up on all fours.

Another puzzle was Blaze. He'd been mostly silent ever since he told him what he remembered of the human Sally. What else could he say? The more he made sense of what he was starting to remember, the more certain he was he held strong feelings about her when he was still human. The pain of leaving her when he left for the Poké world…he felt acutely.

Was that what was really bothering his friend though? Or was it the mission and what they discovered about the project his human self was working on? Deciding he'd should've asked long before, "Blaze, you've been really quiet. Are you alright?" He found it hard getting a reading from the infernape's expression as he turned to face him, which didn't happen too often.

Shrugging, "Any more memories?"

"Not since this morning."

His friend sighed, seeming like he wanted to ask something, but turned back to watch the battle.

This wasn't like him; Blaze usually told him of anything that was concerning him, but now he wasn't. So, it had something to do with his memories? Maybe…could he be worrying about his former relationship with Sally? But what would that have to do with anything? He was about to ask him more specifically, only Chris called them both over at that moment.

"Good job, Pikachu!" Chris congratulated as the small yellow electric-type Pokémon left the field, smiling broadly, Leo Hanson and Grovyle cheering from another nearby bench. "OK Blaze, we're up against a sandslash next. Think you can take it?"

Blaze barely looked at the said Pokémon standing on the opposite side of the field. "Probably," replying with little emotion. Even his tail was limp.

For Chris's sake, Leo translated it with a little more certainty while wondering if he could help Blaze to an easy victory, despite the fact his partner's heart didn't seem to be in it. He wanted to ask what was weighing on him, but now it would have to wait until after the battle.

* * *

Leo Hanson followed the battle between Blaze and the sandslash with some interest. After the first few moments, it was apparent the infernape wasn't fighting too well though, taking several hits while only landing a couple weak blows.

"If that's the way that infernape fights, Chris is going to have a hard time of it," commenting to his green friend.

"Gro…vyle rrr."

Which he knew that meant sad agreement.

"Flamethrower!" Chris shouted in what sounded like exasperation, resulting in only a near hit as the sandslash seemingly used speed right at the top end for a sandslash to mostly evade the attack.

Still, he was only half focused on the match. That morning's vision troubled him. If the two mythological Pokémon Dialga and Palkia, neither of whom had presumably been seen by humans for thousands of years, both appeared in the lab…was it because they actually will come to Monday's meeting…or because something serious happens? Considering they were attacking, unless an unannounced guest also shows up, then the vision was more likely of that letter scenario, and could be on any day since it had to be of the future.

Try as he might, he couldn't remember anyone like that person. He also struck him as somewhat…different. Not many people had nearly white hair, at least not naturally. In fact, no one that he could recall ever seeing anywhere had hair like that, excepting the elderly, and that human certainly didn't look old, maybe thirty if he had to guess. His facial features, of what he could remember from the maybe two second look he got, were also…gentle, lacking the hard edges that the majority of males had – more boyish in appearance.

Sitting on the bench by him, Grovyle flinched as Blaze took a nasty hit, but also returned a solid one for the first time.

The fact that he saw Dialga and Palkia "in person" for the first time ever wasn't lost on him either. His heart quickened just remembering their forms. Dialga, a large blue-sliver dragon-like being, looked every bit the regal form ancient legends described him as. And Palkia, gleaming pearl-white and not quite as big but more fluid in form, seemed equally majestic. One able to control time, the other space…according to legend. Suddenly, the fact that Dialga was able to resurrect his Pokémon counterpart from an erased timeline didn't quite require the leap of faith as it did just that morning.

In an idle thought, he wondered just what powers the two really wielded. What wonders…or havoc, could the two of them perform or inflict?

"Punch!" and the infernape went charging after Chris's command.

"Punch!" the other trainer mirrored, the sandslash charging as well.

Blaze leapt up to land the blow while the sandslash moved to the side in preparation. With a great sideways throw, Blaze landed the punch into the side of the desert-dwelling Pokémon, but by moving forward just a little, the sandslash used Blaze's own downward momentum in landing it's hit squarely into Blaze's stomach. With a half roll, the infernape landed hard on his back before promptly curling up into a ball and not moving.

"Blaze!" Both the swampert and Chris ran onto the field as the other trainer, a kid of maybe thirteen, was jumping up and down in victory. At least his sandslash gave a worried glance backward as it returned to it's trainer.

Leo Hanson got himself up to run over too, Grovyle right behind, in case he was needed. The hit certainly looked bad, but not necessarily injurious to a Pokémon. For a tired Pokémon though, it was clearly of the knock-out variety.

* * *

"Blaze!" Leo knelt down close, lifting the infernape's head in his one good arm and trying to bring him back to consciousness. He wasn't completely out as he was staring back at him from out of the ball he was curled in, but he wasn't responding either. Except…his eyes were wet.

"Oh man, Blaze," Chris said worriedly. Starting to work his arms under him, "I have him Leo," then with a heave, got him cradled in his arms enough to carry him back. "My fault, I shouldn't have called that last attack. That sandslash was just waiting for you."

Leo followed closely until Chris set him back down on their side of the field, his friend still clutching his stomach. Immediately rummaging through their satchels, he extracted a couple of oran berries and held them to Blaze's mouth, only for his partner to push them away.

"Will he be alright?" his human self asked.

Leo ignored him, instead working on getting Blaze to eat the berries to regain some strength. "Come on Blaze, you'll feel better. Like I did when you gave me one in camp a few nights ago."

Blaze again refused, though he did sit up without help, still partly curled.

By tugging his arms gently, Chris managed to get him to let go of his stomach before probing around a little, feeling here and there and asking if there was any pain, to which Blaze merely shook his head slightly.

"Are you sure?" Leo asked.

"It's not bad," Blaze replied, not like he was lying, but as one who cared little.

He wasn't so sure he wasn't hurt pretty good, but relayed what his friend said anyway.

Chris looked relieved, as did his human self and Grovyle. Though Grovyle grabbed his human self's pants at the waist, pulling him toward the field. "I've seen enough. I want to fight that sandslash."

Looking confused, his human self refused to budge. "What do you want, Grovyle?"

"He wants to battle," Leo told him.

"What? You sure? But we haven't fought in a match for _years_! Why now?"

"To test myself. And I'm in the mood to battle that sandslash," Grovyle replied, somewhat angrily in glancing back at Blaze.

Leo translated and watched as his human self relent in walking to the trainer position on the field, still acting very much surprised.

"This I have to see," Chris said. "After this Blaze, I'll get you to a Pokécenter just so they can look you over just in case." Giving the infernape a good pat on his shoulder, he left Blaze and him alone.

Just as well, since he really needed to get to the bottom of something. "Blaze, will you tell me what is wrong?" he implored of his friend. "You haven't been right all day and your heart was not in that fight. Let me help."

Blaze only looked down, seemingly on the verge of despair…and trembling. "Leo…I…_saw_ the way you were looking at her. And you said so too. You still love her, and you want to become human again and stay here with her, don't you? But you're my closest friend, and I don't want to see you go away, not again!" His eyes became wet enough that they shed a few tears.

Huh? He suspected it had something to do with what he told him that morning, but it never occurred to him his partner would come to _that_ conclusion! Then he started to realize something else: even though he came to this world with virtually no memory of it, he still had the knowledge that he was from here. Blaze had no such comfort; he was a stranger in a completely foreign world and they'd been doing nothing but dealing with unfamiliar things ever since they set foot on it. Not only was he Blaze's greatest friend and partner, but he was also his lifeline in this world. To fear losing both…

"Blaze, listen to me. I do remember loving her - as a human. But I'm a Pokémon now, and that time seems a long time ago."

"You…don't still love her…and don't want to stay here?"

"I…don't know about _love_. I know I've changed since then, and I don't have the same feelings as before; I only have those few memories now." His memory of loving her…was he absolutely sure that was all it was? "There is one certainty though: I am not _ever_ going to leave your side. I'm surprised you would even think I would. We've been through far, far too much together." Holding out his good hand for a brief moment, Blaze grasped it.

"Friends forever."

"Forever." He broke their grip to grab the oran berries behind him. "Now, eat your berries – or I'll have to punch you with my good arm until you do." That finally got a weak smile out of Blaze before he did what he was told.

A primal scream after the sound of a hard impact got both their attentions as they looked to the field. Grovyle was standing over the flat-on-his-stomach sandslash, almost growling. "How's _that_ hit?" he shouted down at the moaning opponent.

"Not…bad," it replied weakly. "I'm done."

This time the sandslash's trainer wasn't nearly so celebratory, Leo noted with some satisfaction. He noticed something else, too: not far away on a bench near some trees, sat a human who was watching them. Ordinarily he wouldn't have noticed, but he remembered seeing this same person wearing really dark sunglasses when they first got to the park. He was still there, still watching, and still wearing the sunglasses while everyone else who had been around at first seemed to have moved on a while ago.

Leo wondered about him, but unlike the man he saw at the Pokécenter where he had his broken arm treated, this person wasn't wearing grey clothes. Different person or just different clothes? The sunglasses made it hard to tell… Wait, the hair was a different color, lighter.

Maybe he was just getting paranoid. But when they left as a group to head to the Pokécenter, he sneaked a glance behind them in pretending to ask Grovyle something, realizing with some shock the person had left the bench, heading in the same direction behind them.

There was a Poké saying about it only being called paranoia until one's paranoia turned out to be well-based. He pretended not to notice the human, even fooling Blaze enough for him not to notice he was acting any differently. But after arriving at the Pokécenter, seeing the person ducking into a store next to the center, then come back out after they left the center a short time later: "Don't look behind us, but I think we're being followed."

"Huh?" Chris asked, very nearly turning around like he was told not to do.

Both Blaze and Grovyle returned questioning glances.

"Are you sure?" his human self asked, sounding rather doubtful.

"A human male in light colored clothes and wearing sunglasses," he answered. "He was watching us battle at the park, and he's been following us ever since we left."

"Who the heck would be following us?" his human counterpart mumbled.

"I wonder…" Chris said in the manner of someone realizing something. "Leo, when we get back to your house, there's something I should tell you that I completely forgot about."

* * *

Leo Hanson set out a plate of meat, cheese and crackers on the kitchen table, not sure what to make of Chris's story of what happened to them on the way to Pinnacle Valley. Two people showing up in their camp, then a guy in a grey suit and sunglasses was poking around the Pokécenter and inquired about his Pokémon counterpart? "You said it looked like they were scanning?" asking to make sure he got that detail right.

Both Chris and Blaze nodded, Chris making a back and forth sweeping motion while pretending to hold something. "That's what it looked it. I don't know what else that would be."

Considering his counterpart was there, only one thing came to mind that required a scanner. And now that they had mentioned people in suits and sunglasses… "You know, I didn't think much of it at the time, but yesterday while I was waiting for the subway to go and meet you, I thought there was this guy in black suit and dark sunglasses who was watching me. He got off at the same stop, too. Thought little of it at the time, but now…I'm curious."

"You were being watched too?" his Pokémon self asked.

But that was the only time…at least that he'd noticed. The scanning, both he and his counterpart being followed… "If we're _both_ being watched, maybe it's because of our distortions. I'm thinking what those two people in your camp had was a handheld DV detector."

"They _were_ looking for you then," Chris said to the swampert, not with complete surprise.

"But who else would have a DV detector?" asking more to himself.

"You said you have one, right? Do you have more; was one stolen?" Chris asked.

Waving off the idea, "No, we only have one. And it's way too large." Indeed, it was hardly mobile by anyone's definition, being the size of a large cabinet like the ancient computers of a hundred years ago. With work and more research, perhaps it could eventually be shrunk down to the size of something handheld, but it would take years in all likelihood. So again, the question was who else would make one? Who else would have the knowledge and technology? Who would want to?

And it hit him, just as his Pokémon self spoke: "In that one vision we had, you said it looked like another gate project."

"But it looked like it was being destroyed," Leo pointed out. The imagery of the fire and screaming people haunted him still along with the feeling of fear. "Well maybe, whoever it was continued the project, at least as far as developing the technology to detect and track dimensional variations. But then the question is for what purpose? The only reason we built our detector was to test base technology before serving as an aid to creating portals and navigation through them."

"What if they continued working on it because they intend to build another gate?"

He faced the swampert, shrugging. "Again, maybe. If it was me and I had a gate destroyed like that with people killed, I certainly wouldn't continue the project. I guess the detector could have uses in certain physics fields, but I don't know what else." Once again, he wished he could of spoken to that one Derganio representative fellow, Terrace, who maybe had been part of that project, if that's what it really was. Following the same line of thinking: if a Derganio person was involved, then Derganio logically was as well. Perhaps the pressure Derganio was applying for the team to finish the gate was related…

But depending on how many years ago it was, the man may not even have been with the company yet. And who knew who those men in the suits and sunglasses were with or what their objective was.

Just too little information to draw many conclusions.

"Besides for finding me?" the swampert asked. His infernape partner said something and he answered back while the rest of them waited. Then: "He said if they were using such a scanner and they came to our camp, then wouldn't the reason be to capture me? Otherwise why else come into camp."

"Grovyle!" Excitedly, his green partner spoke quickly to the other Pokémon, after which all three of them faced him.

Leo thought he got the implication. "Or maybe their detector only works at real short range. I don't know, but if it's a dimensional distortion they're after and they intend to capture you, then I could be at risk also." Except…no one's tried to capture him that he knew of. "This is all guesswork, though. We don't have much to go on here other then some group of people are following us, and they _may_ have a DV detector."

"Maybe we should just confront them and ask," Chris suggested, earning his own round of stares.

The infernape cocked his head as Grovyle hissed, twitching his wrist leaf blades.

Leo actually found himself considering it. Doing such could put them in some unknown amount of danger, or could scare whoever it was off. On the other hand, they stood to get some answers. After another moment of considering: "Chris, I think you and your Pokémon need more battling practice at the park tomorrow."

His Pokémon counterpart patted his own infernape partner on the back. "Agreed," he said with a wide swampert smile.

* * *

Leo gazed at the sky above him. It was perfectly pleasant on the roof patio as only the slightest of breezes stirred now and then through the cooling air. Just a few high, thin clouds were above, reflecting the light oranges and deepening blues of sunset as first the moon, then the brightest stars started appearing. Although noise from the city around them was ever constant, he was getting used to it and mostly tuned it out.

It was an evening like many he and Blaze had spent back on their world; an evening of eating, lazing around, and just generally relaxing after a hard day. And this was the first such real evening like it they had since they came to (or in his case, returned to) the human world.

Adding to his pleasure, his human self even rigged up a couple of benches in one corner, laying pillows and other padding over it so that his rear fin would fit between them and he could lay on his back fully supported. Since becoming a Pokémon, he'd never been able to lay like that, always having back or head fins preventing it. Now, supported by the benches and with his head fins partly over the end, he was enjoying it for the first time!

He felt…fully relaxed, especially with the pain medication he was still taking. Although not near as bad as what he was given on first arriving at the Pokécenter with his broken arm, this medicine still made him somewhat sleepy when he wasn't moving.

With a content sigh, he reached over to the small table next to him, picking a few pieces of the strong smelling Poké food Chris bought on a quick errand earlier that evening. Popping them in his mouth, he savored the meaty flavor that carried a hint of some spice he couldn't quite identify.

"You look silly," Blaze light-heartedly commented while settling down on the other side of the small table, grabbing a few pieces for himself.

Leo swallowed, barely moving his head to see him out of the corner of his eye. "I've been dreaming of laying on my back for a long time. I know swamperts are meant to lay on their stomachs, but oh, does this feel nice for a change."

"You almost look like a pig on it's back and ready for the dinner table. Just need a perfect apple in your mouth."

Leo had to look closer at his friend to gauge how much he was joking. His toothy grin said it all. "Who'd ever want to eat a swampert? I can't imagine I'm particularly tasty."

"I'm sure a hungry charizard might take the chance. Hm, I wonder if humans eat Pokémon?"

Searching his as-of-yet still extremely limited memories and knowledge of his time as a human, he had no answer. "I don't know."

Blaze flagged down Grovyle as he was leaving the stairwell, heading past them toward Chris and Leo Hanson on the other side of the roof. "Do humans eat Pokémon?"

Grovyle appeared caught off-guard by such a question at first, but quickly answered. "A few. Magikarp are somewhat popular and are eaten along with other non-Pokémon fish. They are actually quite good."

"You've eaten some?" Blaze said with surprise.

"Of course." Grovyle waited for a half moment before continuing past them. "By the way Leo, you look undignified…" he said in turning around briefly, "…but comfortable. Let me know if you need anything."

"Ha ha!" Blaze exclaimed, pointing. "See?"

"I refuse to get up," Leo declared with a another sigh. Indeed, he could see himself sleeping like this. To emphasize the thought, he relaxed his arms completely, letting them hang down over the sides of the narrow benches, the cast on his left arm making it feel quite weighted, though not uncomfortably so.

"Aww. Leo want his tummy rubbed?" Blaze teased in a cooing tone.

"Please," he returned, wondering how far he could take it.

"Ha!"

They fell silent for a while, the low tones of Chris and his human self talking from the other end of the roof being at times almost drowned out by an occasional passing vehicle on the street below. It was almost hypnotic and he was feeling himself becoming more and more sleepy.

Blaze yawned after while. "Leo, you asleep yet?"

"Not…yet." But getting close.

"I wonder if Celebi will show up tonight."

Which was of course, mostly the reason they were up there this evening. "Depends on how far away Dialga and Palkia are," he replied, also with a yawn. "Could be two days round trip."

"I'm also wondering who that human was you saw in your vision. If Dialga and Palkia were both fighting him, then he must be really dangerous or powerful. But humans aren't like us; I mean, they don't have special abilities like a flamethrower or water pulse, do they?"

Nothing he could remember suggested they did, nor anything in the stories they'd heard about humans on the Poké world. Almost by instinct, he didn't believe so either. "I don't think so. We haven't seen any humans doing such since we got here."

"Then it doesn't make any sense," Blaze pointed out.

"Maybe this human has a machine or something that will make him powerful. Humans have Pokéballs, which seem to have the power to fit us into small spaces." Who knew what else there was.

"Think they might have something that can…control us…or worse?" Blaze asked with some alarm.

"I don't know. We better ask my other self or Chris about that, though."

"You'll have to ask them."

"I'll ask tomorrow." He was just too relaxed to even move at the moment. But Blaze brought up some good questions, which lead him to another: "I wonder if there's any connection between that human and those that seem to be following us? He must have a connection to the disaster, if he was facing off against Dialga and Palkia."

Blaze didn't answer for a moment as he settled himself down flat, a pad between him and the roof. "If there is, we should be careful. They could be as dangerous as that human then."

Leo hadn't realized that. Now he grew a little more concerned.

* * *

Settling on the bench nearest the battle field along with Grovyle, Leo Hanson tried taking as inconspicuous a look around them as he could. Of the half dozen or so people somewhat nearby, none really stood out, but then he wasn't about to look behind him just yet either. That would be a little too obvious.

"You ready to battle?" Chris asked Blaze where they were standing on the close end of the field, facing off against a older woman and her red and white feathered blaziken that was a good foot taller than she was.

The infernape almost shouted something in a low, determined voice, smacking a fist against his other hand.

"He's ready!" the swampert translated quietly as the other trainer's blaziken seemed similarly pumped.

"Well, this should be interesting," Leo told Grovyle, to which his green partner answered in Poké speech.

Returning a confident nod to the infernape, Chris gave a mild slap to his back. "Alright Blaze, you know what they say: it's best to fight fire with fire! Now, get out there and let's avenge yesterday's loss!"

Replying with a "Yeep yeep!" the infernape literally leapt out onto the field.

"Dare I say it," Leo observed, "but he's really, um, _fired up_ this morning." Unable to help it, he gently jabbed Grovyle's side with his elbow.

Grovyle shook his head. "_Groooo_vyle…"

Which was as close to a moan as his friend could give.

From the outset, it was a pitched battle. Both having fire abilities and fighting physically well, Blaze was looking _much_ better than the previous day. It was obvious the blaziken had the advantage in size, but he thought Blaze had it speed and agility. All told, they were about as evenly matched as two Pokémon of different species could be.

After Blaze landed a well-timed flame attack on the blaziken, Leo pretended to drop something through the slates of the bench. Of course, in turning around and retrieving it, he glanced around the area behind them. He very nearly paused in catching sight of the same person from yesterday in slightly more faded blue jeans, but still wearing sunglasses. The glasses would almost be out of place, but the man choose a good spot directly facing the strong mid-morning sun so such dark glasses would be appropriate.

"Well, I think we have a suspect about a hundred feet behind us on the bench near those bushes," reporting to Grovyle after retrieving his small piece of paper. "We'll see how long he stays." But he got a better idea almost immediately. "Actually on second thought, there's concession stand a little ways in that direction. Let's go and get something; we can get a better look at this fella then." At first he was going to have Grovyle stay put, but if these people were as dangerous as his Pokémon counterpart suggested they might be over breakfast that morning, he'd rather have his partner with him.

It was a shame to not continue watching the match, but finding and likely confronting one of these "followers" at some point was most of the reason they were in the park.

Grovyle shouted something back to Chris's wartortle as they left the bench, who was standing on the sideline by himself. Probably telling him where they were going and doing. Indeed, they had felt it prudent to have a little extra "firepower" standing by, just in case. Chris's other Pokémon were staying put in their Pokéballs for the time being, to serve as an element of surprise if needed.

In passing the dark brown-haired man on the walkway, Leo had to really resist the urge to give him undo attention. Noting the newspaper on his lap, he gave a short "Hi" to him, which was returned with only a nod as the man seemed more interested in the battle between the two fire-types.

Hm. Fairly uneventful, and it really didn't accomplish much. While at the concession stand and paying for enough bottled drinks for everyone, he got a better idea for the way back, but wondered if he should really push it that far. He leaned close to whisper it to Grovyle, getting an appreciated nod of approval in return.

Heart pounding at what he was about to do, he stopped by the man on the way back. "Really a good battle going on, huh?" He had to concentrate to not sound nervous.

The man nodded again, only sparing a quick glance and a "Yep".

He certainly had a good alibi for watching everyone, Leo realized; even training battles were a legitimate spectator event. Which was exactly what he was going to try and exploit. "Say, if you want to watch it, why don't you move to one of the closer benches? You'll have a much better view. I think they're going to have more battles after this one, too." That got the man's attention finally.

"No thanks," the young man answered in a shallow voice. "Too much fire being blasted around. Could get burned."

There was that possibility if one sat too close, he had to admit. Spectators getting hurt by errant attacks was not unheard of, especially in the hundreds of unregulated matches that took place daily. "Just don't sit right next to the field and you'll be fine." He smiled, hoping to break the ice a little.

"I'm fine here, but thanks anyway."

Well, so much for that idea. He thought for sure the man would take the offer; after all, he was giving him the perfect excuse to watch them all from a much closer distance without arousing any suspicion. Unless he thought there was a risk in getting too close…like maybe letting something slip he shouldn't or having too many questions asked?

While returning with Grovyle to their bench, Blaze finally scored a knockout blow to the blaziken. "Oh, thanks!" Chris said as he started handing out the bottles. Blaze took his gratefully, twisting the cap and taking several quick gulps.

"What were you talking about?" his Pokémon counterpart asked in taking his own bottle.

"Oh, you were watching us?"

"I noticed you over there."

"Just asked him if he wanted a closer look, since he seemed interested in the battle. I was hoping to get him closer so we could watch him better as well."

His counterpart seemed to consider that for a moment. "Clever. But he didn't accept?"

Leo frowned. "No." He still thought it was a good idea, though.

"Well, do a couple more matches, and then leave?" Chris asked.

"Yes. Grovyle and I will then return to the concession stand, and if this person starts to follow you, then we'll know for sure he's more interested in…my counterpart, I guess, rather than me."

"Then what?" the swampert asked. "Do we really confront him?"

Of all of them gathered in a loose circle, none of them said anything immediately.

If they confronted the man, they could set into motion other, perhaps less favorable events. Or they could get some answers. Or they might not succeed and the man would get away without revealing anything, but now being alerted that they were on to him. A fourth outcome could be they do get some answers, only to find it something totally unrelated to anything they cared about. There probably were a multitude of other outcomes as well.

"Did he have any Pokéballs on him?" Chris asked.

"Not that I saw," Leo answered, Grovyle shaking his head in confirmation.

"I think we've been watched and followed long enough," Chris finally said. "I want to know who they are."

His Pokémon counterpart, the only other one among them who could talk, nodded. "Blaze and I were sent here to investigate. If these humans have something to do with the disaster, we need to find that out. Unless there is some other way to get answers from them?"

Leo Hanson shook his head, coming up blank. "Other than directly confronting one of them, I don't know of another way off the top of my head. Except for waiting for them to make a move."

"I'd rather _not_ wait for whatever they're going to do," Chris replied, cracking the cap on his bottle of soda with a sharp, angry twist.

Blaze said something in Poké speak, as did Grovyle, both sounding in tone like agreement.

"Alright then, after the matches we'll follow our original plan: if he starts to follow either of us on the way back, we'll confront him. I'm sure the police will be interested in why he's following us if he doesn't answer us."

"Yeep yeep!"

Leo could only interpret that as excitement from the infernape. Or nervousness. If the later, it'll be at least one thing they had in common.


	11. Chapter 11: Preventive Measures

**Chapter 11: Preventive Measures**

Leaping up, Grovyle collided with the swellow before grabbing it on the way down and pinning it's wings against the ground. The flying Pokémon flailed it's bird legs for a few moments in trying to escape, but he held it down securely, putting all his weight on it's wings. The woman trainer had no choice but to give up; Grovyle let out a cry of victory.

Leo knew Chris wanted to do the match with Elekid, but bringing him out of his hidden Pokéball wouldn't have been a good idea. Having already used Wartortle in the second match with the older human woman, that left his human self and Grovyle to take on the women's third Pokémon. Not that Grovyle showed any disappointment in fighting his second match in as many days.

His human self looked to enjoy it as well. After thanking their opponent for the matches and returning to their side of the field, "Till yesterday, we hadn't fought a match in seventeen years, would you believe?"

"Guess there are some things you don't forget," Chris said to not just to Leo Hanson, but Grovyle as well. "You looked really good out there. Sure you don't want to join my team?"

"_Gro_vyle." If his tone didn't make it clear to the blonde-haired human, his head shake did.

"Pity." But he said it with a smile.

"I'd almost forgotten how good we were," Grovyle commented, briefly surveying the numerous scratches and bruises he'd received in two days of battling, nothing looking close to serious.

His human self smiled after Leo translated it, but it quickly faded. "Well, I guess it's time to put our plan into action," he said quietly. "We all clear on what we do?"

Nods all around.

As they had talked about over breakfast, his human self and Grovyle pretended to part company with him, Blaze and Chris, Chris absorbing Wartortle back into his Pokéball for the time being. Then as two separate groups, they went in opposite directions toward the ends of the park. The first thing they wanted find out was who this person was more interested in.

Of course, if the man didn't follow either of them, then that was good too; it only meant that maybe they were all getting a little paranoid.

Leading him and Blaze in a roundabout way through the park, Chris occasionally paused them here and there to feign interest in something, basically ensuring anyone following would be pretty clear in doing so.

After many minutes of this, they finally came to one of the white wooden concession stands that had been their destination all along. "Three large bread pretzels," Chris said, placing the order and giving them a good excuse to stop and survey the area.

Leo gave a brief thought to what pretzels were before turning around with Blaze to give the area a look-over.

"He's…there," Blaze said in a hushed, excited tone, right before Leo saw him.

Dark brown hair, dark sunglasses, same height, build and semi-dark complexion…that certainly looked like the person from yesterday. But he looked to be watching another match going on in the distance, though he wasn't far away, having obviously followed them through most of the park. Finally though, he gave the sign they were looking for: he glanced in their direction for several seconds.

"We see him," Leo told Chris quietly. "I think he _is_ following us."

Chris sighed unsteadily. "OK, we'll have to spring the trap then." After quickly taking the pretzels from the cashier, he lead them straight back the other way. "I sure hope Mr. Hanson and Grovyle are indeed behind him somewhere like they said they would be if this guy followed us and not them."

Leo was fairly certain if his human self said he would do something, he would. After all, _he_ would. Which didn't mean he wasn't nervous. As they approached, his found his heart pounding and hoped he wasn't visibly shaking. They knew nothing about this human, what he wanted, what power he had or what he represented. There were so many unknowns, but perhaps they were on the cusp of finding out some real answers.

Dare he hope it might have anything to do with Dialga's disaster prediction?

The human didn't move at first, but seemed to make a quick decision to walk past them as they almost reached them. Only Chris didn't let him, blocking his path.

"Alright, why are you following us?" asking abruptly.

The human, who up-close looked slightly younger than his human self, gave no hint of emotion while staring directly into Chris's face. "What makes you think I'm following you?" His not-so-deep voice was steady, carrying a hint of threat.

"Because you followed us yesterday from here to the Pokécenter, and nearly all the way to my friend's house. And this morning, here you are again, watching everything we're doing before following us through the park."

Not moving for a moment, "You must have me confused with someone else," the human eventually answered.

Leo shook his head when Chris seemed to look to him for a confirmation.

"No, you're the one."

The two humans stared at each other for several heartbeats. "Get out of my way," the dark brown-haired man finally said in a lower voice, his tone speaking unmistakable threat.

"I think you're going to answer my question," Chris returned in an equally low voice. "Why are you following us?"

The man didn't reply for a few moments, instead flexing both his moderately-sized hands into fists and back. "_Again_, I think you are mistaken. But just some advise: you don't want to mess with me."

Blaze growled from the other side of Chris and Leo decided to do the same from his side. If this human was entertaining any violent thoughts, it was best to remind him Chris wasn't alone here!

Moving his head to fully face down at him with his sunglasses, "Don't see many of your kind around this region, swampert. And you already have one broken arm."

Leo noticed his partner nearly lurch at him even as he let out a long, low growl. He wanted to ask this human what _exactly_ he meant by that, but thought it best not to demonstrate he could speak to this particular human. Even so, a reasonable implication could be drawn.

"Look mister," Chris said with clear agitation, "either you tell us what's going on, or we haul you into the police and let them have a go at you. I'm sure they'd be quite interested in a stalker."

"The police…" The man paused, giving a hint of a smile. "…have better things to do."

Leo wondered if they really could take this human down and drag him to the police, wherever that was. It was with some relief he spotted his human self and Grovyle running down the path toward them.

"Well, shall we find out then?" Chris asked, suddenly sounding emboldened and folding his arms across his chest.

The man turned in time to see Leo Hanson and Grovyle close the circle around him.

"He's not talking," Chris told them. "I think we might have to bring him in if he doesn't start giving us some good answers."

Cursing, in a lightening move the man whipped out a Pokéball in each hand from some hidden pocket, quickly releasing two charizards! Before anyone could move, each charizard started stomping around outside their circle, raising their heads up high and letting out two deafening roars, vibrating even the ground.

Along with Blaze, Grovyle and the three humans, Leo tried covering his ears, though the cast on his left arm made it difficult on that side, leaving his left ear drum slightly ringing as a result.

"Maybe you want to reconsider?" the man asked with a taut grin after the roars died down, with one of the charizards letting a little flame out of it's mouth instead.

The complete change in the balance of power was bewildering! He, Blaze and Grovyle stood no chance against them! With his water pulse attack, he was the only one who would have good effect, but he was hardly in fighting form with his broken arm!

"Arg!" Backing up several steps, Chris whipped out his own hidden Pokéballs, releasing Pikachu, Elekid, Wartortle and Electabuzz around the two charizards. "Or do _you_?" he returned.

As confident as Chris sounded, Leo noted the other Pokémon were suddenly looking very nervous in the face of the two charizards, excepting Electabuzz. Of course nothing rattled him, he was sure.

"Easy, Chris," his human self cautioned, holding up a hand. "Alright mister, it's more than obvious you've been following us, so why don't you just tell us why? What's the big secret?"

"Maybe I just like watching Pokémon," he replied coolly.

"And following their trainers?"

Deciding to back up a little to stay alongside Chris, Leo motioned Blaze to do the same. His partner did so, but the angry look on his face only intensified as he glanced between the two charizards. "Fight fire with fire," mumbling to himself.

"Part of the game," the man answered before snapping his fingers. One of the charizards came forth to lay down, forcing everyone to make even more way. With the circle around him broken, the man climbed the Pokémon's back.

"Hey, give us some answers, damn it!" Chris shouted.

"I've none to give."

Both Blaze and Grovyle growled as the charizard got back up.

"No one follows others without a damn good reason," Leo Hanson half-shouted.

To which the man only smiled. "I came here to watch, not to fight. But maybe we'll see each other again sometime." Removing his sunglasses, he gave Leo a moment's stare before putting them away in a pocket. "Let's go Charizard!" Together, the two reddish dragon-type Pokémon spread their wings wide, and in a great gust of wind, lifted off, the man riding the one as they disappeared low into the sky.

Leo watched till they disappeared, finding himself thinking about the man's face.

"Damn," Chris muttered.

"Well that went well, didn't it?" his human self commented. "Did he say anything useful at all?"

Shaking his head, "Not a damned thing. Except, he threatened Leo."

"You mean…"

Jabbing a thumb to Leo, "Yeah, your Pokémon counterpart."

Leo looked at his cast. "If he tried, I would've given him a water pulse in the face." He was fairly certain of that. But those two charizards certainly could have done him (and everyone else!) a good deal of injury…or worse. For once, he was glad for not having to fight.

"If he would've done anything to threaten him, I would have burned him _alive!_" Blaze screamed in obvious rage, his read and yellow mane puffing greatly.

After discussing the event a little more, they left for home, Leo still trying to place the man's face, having finally seen it without the disguising sunglasses. He couldn't be certain, but he thought he might had seen it before. Not only that, it almost felt like it was when he was a Pokémon, and not a buried human memory. But where? Since coming to the human world, he'd seen hundreds if not thousands of human faces, in places from subway stations to stores to just passing on sidewalks, most for only a fraction of a second. How could he hope to figure out where he'd seen it?

"Hey, you alright?" Blaze asked after a while. "You look deep in thought."

Leo realized they were already most the way to his human self's home and he hadn't said anything the whole time. "Oh, just thinking about that human. It feels like I've seen his face somewhere before, but I can't remember."

"A memory from when you were human?"

Shaking his head hesitantly, "Not sure, but I think more recently. Just can't place it."

"Maybe you saw him a few days ago, when we didn't know he was following us yet?"

Blaze's explanation seemed to make good sense. "You're probably right." Which seemed to satisfy Blaze, but not himself. Where he saw it…no, it wasn't that. It was under a different circumstance, it felt. But what?

The question was still haunting his mind sometime later as he stared into the guest bathroom from the doorway, trying to figure out a way he could fit into the shower. Having been three days since his last bath, he was feeling (and smelling) the need to wash but the stall looked a little small for him. Blaze had no problem using it earlier, and he wouldn't have any problem either if it wasn't for his back fin that nearly doubled his width. Maybe if he tried fitting diagonally… Turning on the light, he went in and tried fitting into the stall that way, but it was no good. His fin was going to have to bend sharply to one side or the other; painfully so. Or else the door would have to stay open. He doubted his human self was going to appreciate a large amount of water on the floor, though.

"Oh, hey," his human self said, suddenly appearing in the doorway. "Trying to take a shower?"

Leo nodded. "I can't fit in here."

"You should use the one in the master bath. It's larger."

Following his other self down the short hall, they went through the second floor 'master' bedroom and to the bathroom off the side. The stall there was indeed larger, just enough for him to fit in, close the frosted glass door, and not have his back fin bent or pinched…so long as he didn't move too much.

His human self started laying out some towels on counter next to the sink. "Feel free to come up here and use it whenever you need to." Then after a sigh: "This feels weird; I guess this is your house too, isn't it?"

He wasn't quite sure how to answer that. "I guess, maybe it is." In one sense. "But I have a home on my world too."

"I suppose you do. But if you end up staying here, then…well, you have as much right to stay here as I do. In fact more, if anything; I haven't done the heroic deeds you and your friend have." With a not quite concealed smile: "Though you'll still have to take over your share of the mortgage payment then. Which means getting a job."

"A job?" He already had one…back on his world, though the number of those needing rescue was dwindling. "What jobs do Pokémon do here?"

"And get paid for?" His human self was chuckling by this point. "Well…you know, I'm sure translating between humans and Pokémon would pay…probably quite a bit."

Leo sensed he was only letting the scenario play out for amusement and wasn't all that serious about it. "Too bad Poké money isn't any good here. Blaze and I already have a lot of money on our world."

"Hm. Well then, if I ever find myself on that Poké world of yours, I'll know who to hit up for a loan. Nothing like borrowing from one's self." Smirking, he left him to his shower, though he heard him continue from the bedroom in a more contemplative tone: "Bet no one thought _that_ concept could be done literally."

Grabbing one of the washcloths between two of his large fingers, Leo closed the shower door before activating the water spray. For the first few moments, he just let the fine spray drench him, simply enjoying the pure pleasure of the moisture, not even caring if any got inside his cast. His bath in the hotel room proved the cast was waterproof; which was good, since avoiding getting it wet in the shower's spray would have been impossible anyway.

Raising his face, he moved it directly into the spray, making sure every spot of his sensitive head fins got well soaked. It felt really…exquisite. This human invention of an artificial rain was on the top of his list of greatest inventions ever.

He also predicted it was going to be a long shower…

Another in the long series of new (or rather, forgotten) concepts he'd discovered (rediscovered) since coming to the human world was that of "soap". Truly, a weird invention if there ever was one. Yet it seemed to leave him feeling cleaner then he'd ever felt, so long as he could hold the super-slippery bar long enough in his thick three-fingered hands to get some of it rubbed off on a washcloth.

Blaze mentioned how good shampoo was too, something Chris suggested he use. "Good for hair," he told him. Which was certainly good for his partner since he was covered with it. For himself, he didn't have even one hair. Hence the soap was far more useful. Humans seemed to need both, with exposed skin and a mane on their heads. At times it was hard to imagine being one, despite the memories he was finally beginning to recover, and wished he could remember more…much more. Particularly about Sally.

Ever since recalling the few memories about her, he thought about her off and on. He was a Pokémon now, but his human feelings…they kept welling up. What did they mean, exactly? He wasn't sure if there was any love there, but he certainly felt _something_ for her. Remembered feelings, or real feelings? She was pretty…for a human, he supposed.

It was much the same question about the human they confronted that morning. Did he see his face when he was human, or later when he returned to this human world?

Raising a leg in the cramped quarters of the stall, he washed around the green padded area of his lower leg, discovering an almost completely healed scratch he hadn't noticed there before. Something else he must have gotten in the fight with the graveler that saw his arm broke.

Hm. Funny thing about memories; larger events could make you forget about smaller ones. How many smaller events turn out to actually be more important then the larger ones? How many smaller details were still locked up in his mind that could potentially make a huge difference in averting the disaster?

He hoped Celebi showed up that evening.

* * *

Leo Hanson handed Chris one of the large platters of potatoes, gravy, carrots, rice and fried chicken to take up to the roof patio. Nothing like eating under the evening sky in the middle of the city, though the trees he put up there last year added a nice country touch that he liked, as well as providing a smidgen of privacy.

The food was a hit, with all the Pokémon having their choice of what he fixed and their Poké food. It bolstered his pride some to see the Poké food go virtually untouched.

"This is really good," Chris commented after his first few bites.

"The other Leo gets to fix the next meal," he teased, getting his counterpart's attention and that of his friend's.

"I don't remember how," the swampert replied flatly. Blaze said something to him, making his eyes go wide.

"What did he say?"

"He's threatening to tell everyone at the Guild what a great cook I am." Then with a sinister look: "I think one really _bad_ meal will take care of that rumor, though."

Chris nearly choked on his next bite.

Another humorous thing was watching the infernape apparently use silverware for the first time; the mashed potatoes and gravy just couldn't be eaten any other way, at least not without making a huge mess. His swampert counterpart seemed to have an easier time of it, despite having only three large fingers.

"Well, I should point out that Grovyle helped," Leo finally confessed under Grovyle's stare. "He made the chicken in fact."

Reaching between the two of them, Wartortle grabbed another of the said chicken legs, saying something in Poke speech right before ripping off a large chuck of the leg into his mouth.

"He wants to know if we can have food like this all time," his counterpart translated, directing to it Chris.

"I'd go broke!" the trainer exclaimed. "Really, I've had to cook on my own for several years now, but it's usually a cup of noodles or something out of a can. Can never compare to the real home-cooked thing. Did your mother teach you?"

Leo nodded. "One of the things she made sure I could do." He noticed his Pokémon counterpart staring at him intently.

"Our…mother? Where is she?"

Oh…if he didn't remember! "She's dead. She died seventeen years ago. It's when I decided to give up being a trainer. With both mom and dad gone, I decided I needed to concentrate on school and get a job." Looking to Grovyle, he got a nod of understanding. His friend for life had understood his reason and refused to leave him.

Looking down at his plate, his Pokémon self started giving himself a rub along one of his pointed gills. "I think I do remember a little, now that you told me. She…got sick…"

"Yeah." That one week so long ago he really didn't want to think about. Not now. "Alright, well, there's some dessert after this, so don't stuff yourselves too much. Oh, and Leo…" He grimaced; it just sounded so weird to use his own name for someone else…someone else who was, essentially, him. "…it has lots of chocolate." Which seemed to perk the swampert up.

Before he could get up to get it though, there was a slight commotion from the other side of the patio where the other Pokémon were gathered. With a quick move, a small, light-green colored Pokémon floated over some of the trees with her small, fast-beating wings, waving to the Pokémon below before arriving at the table. "Celebi!" he greeted, still feeling awed by her presence.

Chris took in a sharp breath, staring.

Pointing to the table, she said something to which his counterpart replied: "Help yourself."

The delicate looking Pokémon did just that, picking up some of the carrots and rice off the platter with both hands.

"Uh…wow! It's really a celebi!" Chris mumbled. "Can you really travel through time?"

The floating Pokémon spun around while stuffing rice into her small mouth, then floated to right in front of his face to stare into his eyes. "Reeof beeo, ocebi, reeeeebiof?"

"Uh…"

"Yes, that's the Chris we told you about," the swampert answered to her.

Raising a (now empty) tiny hand, she touched the end of his nose before flying over to the swampert, where she promptly laid down on his head between his two fins. "Reebee ree bee bee beeree bree." His Pokémon self formed an unreadable expression, but answered her in Poké speech, which started some lengthy dialog between her, him, Blaze and Grovyle.

Leo only shrugged when Chris asked with a hand gesture what was going on. Seems the humans present had no choice but to wait patiently for them to finish and tell them what the heck was being discussed as the other Pokémon gathered and listened. Whatever it was, he couldn't help but feel it was important.

* * *

"It all smells good!" Celebi said in her high-pitched voice after settling in on his head. "Did you make it?"

"My other self and Grovyle did."

"Oh," crunching on the carrot. "Well then, maybe Grovyle dear could make a meal for _me_ sometime," her high-pitched tone being that of a strong hint.

Grovyle's green eyes went wide.

"You know Celebi, you sort of expressed that same desire in the Future That No Longer Exists," Blaze pointed out. "Grovyle did make a good improvised apple-berry roast when we were on the run."

"That's one part of that timeline I wish I hadn't missed out on then," replying after another few crunches.

Although he couldn't see her face, Leo got the impression she was staring at Grovyle enough to make him turn away from her. In the Future That No Longer Exists, she hinted she really liked Grovyle, but really wouldn't admit it. She seemed a little freer in this timeline, or at least under these different circumstances.

She finished crunching on the carrot, the mild vibrations of which Leo felt through his skull along with the itch from her fine hair, before continuing. "Well, Dialga and Palkia were happy to hear you found your human self of course. But they became disturbed over the news of the dimensional portal the humans are building and the visions you've had. He believes they're extremely important clues and you should act on them as best you can."

"They were actually his visions," Leo said, gesturing to his human self. "We're linked somehow, and I experienced them at the same time."

"Interesting…but then you are the same person, um…mostly. There is a little more news. Dialga and Palkia wished they had more to tell, but Dialga's been having a hard time peering into the future, and Palkia's having equal difficulty sensing space. They say it's almost like there's someone or something masking their senses, but otherwise they can't explain it. However, they've have sensed enough to believe the coming disaster may cause considerable destruction, and to narrow down when this disaster will happen."

Blaze, Grovyle and the other Pokémon gathered around looked to her expectantly, Leo only able to roll his eyes up. "When?" asking with the others in unison.

"They sense it's close, perhaps two weeks or less."

Blaze nearly jumped as some of the other Pokémon gasped and started mumbling among themselves.

Leo felt a sudden pang of urgency. Time was far shorter then he hoped!

"Then, that vision you had yesterday, will happen soon?" Blaze asked.

"You had another vision?" Celebi asked, grabbing his fins and sliding her finely haired self forward on his head, enough that her face and large blue eyes appeared upside-down in front of him.

Leo told her about the brief scene he saw between Dialga, Palkia and a human, and she grew very still. "If both Dialga and Palkia were attacking that human, what could be the reason? Could he have anything to do with the disaster; is that why they'll attack him?"

Celebi still didn't stir for a long moment, but finally pulled herself back up on top of his head. "If I wasn't so tired, I'll be flying directly back to them tonight with that news. The event you saw sounds…strange, as well as important."

"His human self is going to try and convince the rest of his team to stop their project tomorrow, though." Blaze pointed out. "If what they're doing is the cause of the disaster, that should put a stop to it, he thinks. But he isn't sure he'll be able to convince them without greater proof. That's why he wants either Dialga or Palkia to appear at their meeting tomorrow."

Celebi jerked as Leo again felt a tiny hand on each of his head fins. "What?"

"Or you, if neither of them are willing," Leo added.

After staying silent for many moments: "I…can ask, but I doubt they will do that. And it won't be tomorrow. In fact, I really _am_ tired. I can't move my wings another beat! Ever since I got here, it's been back and forth, back and forth. I need a good day's rest before I can return to them. Maybe, if I stay here for the night, I can go myself as he wants. So long as no one tries to capture me; time travel is a dangerous ability to obtain."

Leo felt a pat on his back. "Don't _we_ know! Ha ha!" Blaze exclaimed.

"If my human self trusts his partners, I trust them," Leo replied.

"So do I," Blaze seconded.

"And I will protect you myself if needed," Grovyle added.

"Well then, Grovyle dear, if _you'll_ be there to protect me, then I'll be nothing but fine!" her voice carrying no hint of sarcasm; in fact, just the opposite.

Grovyle hastily looked away while Blaze was just noticeably smirking.

A "Hey!" across the table quickly got all their attentions. "Is this a private conversation, or can us poor humans take part?" his human self asked pointedly.

* * *

"Within _two weeks?_" The immediacy surprised Leo Hanson. Maybe more from wishful thinking than anything, he had been thinking whatever disaster was coming was a ways off yet.

"Well, if it's the ring that causes it, you'll be shutting down the project tomorrow, right?" Chris asked while still staring at Celebi, clearly not too concerned in tone.

"It's not my decision!" The Professor was the one they ultimately had to convince, though having the other team members supporting him was nearly as crucial. "But Celebi's presence I think is going to help, certainly."

"In one of our visions, you said we saw something go wrong in what you called 'Phase Two'", his Pokémon counterpart said, being noticeably careful in not moving his head too much with the delicate-looking Celebi resting on his head. "How soon before you reach that if the project isn't stopped?"

"It depends. If everything goes exactly right in Phase One, where we do complete systems tests, it could only be a week. If we have a lot of problems, it could be months…or even years before we reach that stage."

Chris finally took his eyes off Celebi long enough to glance at him. "What's exactly this Phase Two thing?"

"In Phase One, we only go partway toward making a dimensional portal, since we're checking things out to see if all the systems are working together and…well, that some of our theories are correct. In Phase Two, we go all the way and make a full dimensional portal for the first time."

His counterpart grimacing, "So, it _is_ possible that if the project _isn't_ stopped, that what we saw in the vision will happen within two weeks."

Giving a nod, "But again, I don't know who all those strange people were that I…_we_ saw."

Celebi said something, with Blaze chiming in. The swampert nodded slightly in apparent agreement. "Then, we have to make sure the project _is_ stopped."

"I think that's become obvious," Leo replied. "What would happen though, if we only delayed the project by, say, a month or so? Would that change the future?" He directed the question more to Celebi and many eyes went to her.

Replying in Poke speech, his counterpart translated for her: "'Within two weeks' was only a best guess by Dialga. But since we had no sense of timing in any of our visions, it could really happen at any point in the future."

It wasn't what he wanted to hear, but it was as he guessed. "So, basically, we can't continue the project at all.

"It sounds that way," the swampert answered.

"Great." Sighing, he leaned back into his metal-framed chair, moving his hands behind his head. It was not going to be an easy sell, despite whatever proof he could bring to bear. Not even to himself! "You know, we've only spent the last six years of our lives developing the theories and building that gate. There's a lot of dreams invested in it; that's a lot to just throw away!"

Silence.

A lot to throw away based on some visions…that seemed to have the knack of coming true with unwavering accuracy……? Suddenly leaning forward again: "Hold on. If what we saw in our visions was the future, then how can we change it? I mean, if we saw the future, then those events _will_ happen no matter what we do, won't they?"

"Yeep yeep?" The infernape appeared to express surprise in expression as well in whatever he said, Grovyle also looking all-of-the-sudden uneasy.

Celebi and his Pokémon counterpart chatted back and forth for a moment, before his counterpart replied: "The timeline can branch and change, although the events we saw will happen in one of them. But she says you may still be right and that we may not be able to prevent what is going to happen. That doesn't mean we shouldn't try, though. I guess she's saying she doesn't know what will happen."

"Ree-ree," Celebi replied, sounding something like agreement.

Feeling their odds slipping, Leo just had to shake his head a little. "So…we're going to try and convince everyone else tomorrow that we need to completely stop our project, since it appears to be the cause of, or at the very least, involved with whatever disaster is _probably_ going to happen within two weeks, but there is a good chance that doing so won't have any effect anyway." He looked around the table, gauging everyone's replies whether verbal or not. "And we still don't know what this disaster is, other than it's supposed to be bad. Right?"

Chris only moved his hands to indicate he had no idea. Most of the Pokémon looked confused; Grovyle cocked his head and Blaze simply raised his red brow line in furrowing his forehead. His Pokémon counterpart was the only one who spoke: "I trust Dialga. The entire reason he came and brought us, was to help everyone by trying to prevent what will happen. If he thinks it can be stopped, then so do I."

Well, if what he'd heard about the mythical Pokémon was true, then he could hardly argue against the logic of that. After all, who better to know if the timeline could be altered then a Pokémon that controls time itself?

"And do you remember the vision about what you think was an earlier gate project," his counterpart continued. "Remember the feeling we got, that there was something terrible there?"

"How can I forget that fear," Leo confirmed. And now that he was reminded of it, he remembered more than he wanted to. "Maybe they opened a portal somewhere they shouldn't have, let someone through who caused the disaster...or else someone was trying to destroy the gate to shut it down… Those are just guesses; I really don't know what happened."

"Well, maybe that's the kind of disaster we're supposed to prevent."

On the surface, there appeared to be little in common between the two visions. The first was of something going wrong during Phase Two of the University's project, the second of something already going seriously wrong in some other project that _may_ have been a dimensional gate project. But what if what was going wrong in Phase Two was just the beginning stages of what would end up being like in the other vision? And again, who were all those strange people in the gate room, seemingly running it? That, more than anything, was now what scared him.

"Alright, we'll try and convince the team tomorrow as planned," he said at last.

Getting himself ready for bed, he was still trying to come to grips with everything though. He had in his house at that moment: himself and Grovyle, another trainer, and a swampert who was actually himself but transformed into a Pokémon from a timeline that didn't exist anymore after it was changed, and so had a virtually identical dimensional distortion around him. With him was his infernape partner, both of whom traveled from a world inhabited only by Pokémon, transported by the legendary Palkia who had previously been believed to only be a myth. Further, Dialga, another legendary Pokémon believed to only by a myth, also came from that world. To top it all off, from the same world, a celebi, although not quite a myth but rarely sighted, was currently spending the night with the other Pokémon (and Chris) in the guest bedroom.

Tomorrow, he was going to try and convince the other members of the project team to abandon what they've all worked on for six years, based on what his Pokémon counterpart said Dialga told him and on some shared visions he and his counterpart had. Oh, and not to forget the person who had been following them and the encounter Chris had on the way to Pinnacle Valley with some people who were using, perhaps, a DV detector.

Yep, all that was going to sound pretty good tomorrow. Granted, Sally took it all in and seemed to believe him (for the moment), but now there was even more to the story.

"Tomorrow is going to be fun," telling Grovyle sarcastically just before turning out the light next to his bed.

"Gr_ooo_vyle."

* * *

Now that there was a shower readily available, which was easier to use then a bathtub, Leo decided to make full use of it. Without doubt, he could get used to a shower every morning and evening. His skin certainly loved it, with it's blue color taking on a richness he'd rarely seen. Yet he knew it had to be a short one, his human self having told him they needed to get going this morning so to make it in to the lab on time. Apparently Sally had already… (What was the word…emailed?) …him that she set up a meeting for ten o'clock.

Grudgingly shutting off the water, he stepped out and dried himself slightly before leaving the master bathroom and making his way to the stairs. He could hear the commotion from below before he even got there and hurried down and into the kitchen.

"Come on, Blaze! You have to get in there!" his human self was saying in a frustrated voice.

"No!" Blaze replied sharply.

Chris's calmer voice spoke: "Blaze, please. He's right, there won't be room during rush hour! Grovyle went into his ball…"

"I'm not getting…"

As Leo made it into the kitchen, everyone turned to him all shouting at once, hurting his ears…

"Quiet!" his human self quickly yelled over Chris and Blaze. "Leo, look, please tell Blaze he has to get inside this Pokéball for the subway ride. It's Monday morning, it's going to be crowded, and people aren't going to take kindly to Pokémon being transported outside their Pokéball. You already can't go inside one, so having _two_ of you in the subcar…"

Blaze huffed, shaking his head as his mane puffed. "Leo, I'm not going inside one of those again! I don't like being carried like that!"

"Leo is right, er, Leo," Chris added. "It's going to be wall-to-wall people inside those cars. Weekends and weekdays outside rush hour are fine, since there aren't as many people on them then, but a Monday morning is going to be crammed full! Blaze will end up squished against the wall! So will you, but that can't be helped."

His human self and Chris had a valid sounding reason, but he also had to respect his closest friend's wishes, too.

"Look, we'll let you back out just as soon as we're off the subway," his human self continued, "and you don't even have go inside until we get inside the station. The ride will only be about forty minutes. And we'll even come back during a time that you won't have to be in it on the way back."

With near pleading eyes: "Leo, it's…_humiliating_ to be put inside something like that and carried around like someone's property!"

"I don't understand why you won't do it, Blaze!" Chris said, throwing his hands up in a gesture of frustration.

Leo relayed the reason to the humans, leaving the sandy-haired trainer a little open-mouthed; his human self slightly less so.

Chris recovered quickly enough: "Blaze, look, it's just for transportation, and it keeps you safe. And this is one instance where there just isn't a choice in the matter. I'm sorry, but it's either go in the ball or stay behind."

"I'm not staying behind!" Blaze nearly shouted, his tone speaking agitation.

"I doubt the attendants will even let us on board with you both not in Pokéballs," his human self added. "I transport Grovyle everyday to and from the lab inside his Pokéball during rush hours."

Leo tried thinking of a way around this with three pairs of eyes on him, his partner's being the most insistent. After a half moment, he leaned closer to Blaze's ear and in almost a whisper, "Unfortunately they have a good reason, Blaze. But what if I hold your Pokéball during the ride? And I'll make sure you aren't in there any longer then you have to be." After moving back, the pupils in his partner's eyes got just slightly larger, his mane puffing even more…but quickly died down.

"I think…you're the only one I'll allow to do that."

Reaching to his friend's head, he quickly messed with part of his mane, causing the infernape to squirm out of his reach with an infernape-like giggle. "You're brave. If it wasn't for this distortion around me, I'm sure I'll have to go inside one too, and I'd probably be putting up a bigger fuss then you."

Blaze grinned. "I think I'm ready for breakfast now," he announced, almost perfectly in time with a growl from his stomach. "How about you?"

"More than ready," feeling hunger beginning to rumble through his own stomach.

* * *

Both his human self and Chris warned it would be crowded in the station. Apparently they hadn't been kidding.

"I've never seen so many humans crowded together," Blaze remarked, twisting his head at the sea of humans around them.

"Until we came to this world a week ago, we hadn't seen any humans," Leo reminded his infernape partner, just before Chris handed him a red and white ball. "Are you ready?"

Blaze nodded. "Won't be for long, right?"

"You have my word," Leo replied. Then on Chris's instructions, he pressed the small button, opening the ball and causing a red beam to shoot out for his friend. In only a couple seconds, the infernape was gone and the ball closed on it's own, leaving him with a feeling of sudden panic.

"Don't worry, he's safe," his human self comforted with a pat on his shoulder. "Just keep hold of his ball and don't lose him. In fact…" With one motion, his human self looped a belt around him, buckling it around his stomach to rest just above his rear fin on his back. "There, now you have an official Pokémon trainer's belt." Pointing to some clips on the side, "Put his ball in the slot there, and it'll be securely held."

Leo carefully gauged the clip, wondering if he could trust it.

"Those clips are pretty strong," Chris commented. "I've never known one to let go even when falling on it. Your friend will be safer in the clip than in your hand. If someone bumps you, you might let go; the clip won't."

Still, he was feeling reluctant to let go of the small object, even if just onto his new belt, but decided he owed his friend every safeguard. The ball fit exactly into place, the clip responding with a reassuring snap as it "captured" the ball. "Don't worry, you're safe, Blaze," he said to the inert ball. Then on a thought: "Can he hear me in there?"

"Maybe," Chris replied, staring off ahead of them as his human self moved forward. Grasping his shoulder, "That's our train. We have to hurry."

After some moments of jostling around humans and other humans bumping and jostling around them in mad controlled panic, they finally made it through the door into the car and forced their way to a place near one of the walls. On all previous trips on the subways, it was never completely filled with people like it was that morning, and he was beginning to feel claustrophobic with not just Chris and his human self, but a couple other humans nearly pressed against him. At least Chris was keeping a space between him and the wall clear so his rear fin wouldn't get bent around.

One man next to Chris faced him as the doors closed and the car started moving, "Hey, put that Pokémon in a ball, will ya?"

"Sorry, his arm is broken. The doctor said he needed to stay out of it while it's healing." Chris pointed down to his cast.

"Oh! Sorry!" the man replied. "How'd that happen? I'd never heard of a Pokémon getting an arm broke before."

Chris told him the story of his battle with the graveler, with a minor detail or two missing.

"Hey, that Pokémon is wearing a trainer's belt…" a woman said nearby, now that they were getting people's attention.

"And he has a Pokéball, too!" another man pointed out.

"Is that Pokémon...acting as a trainer, too? I never heard of such a thing!"

"No way…"

It was an interesting trip for Chris past the next few stations and Leo was really glad none of those humans knew he could talk. Certainly that would've only added to the attention and questions for both of them.

With great relief, he got off the train at the end of the line with Chris and his human self, with even greater apparent relief for Blaze after he let him out of the Pokéball. He noted though his human self started acting a little nervous, hardly saying anything on the way on the couple mile or so walk to the project building and keeping his lips taut.

He seemed to forget whatever it was momentarily though, when as planned Celebi came out of the trees around the building to greet them. Having left early in the morning's darkness before even twilight to get to the building, she avoided any need to be 'transported' in a Pokéball in order to not be seen. No doubt, his presence on the subway would have paled next to hers had she come on the train. "Mass riot," his human self had put it.

* * *

The researcher from one of the other projects in the building stopped dead in his tracks, mouth open, turning his head in following Celebi as she floated passed him on their way down the common hall.

"You didn't see her," Leo Hanson told him in passing with as level a voice as he could muster. "It all a dream. Go back to work."

Celebi giggled.

The guy was still staring as they turned the corner.

He had the urge to ask her if she got that a lot whenever humans spotted her. Of course, he probably had the same reaction when he saw her for the first time a few nights ago.

After letting everyone through the section doors to the DG project area, he ushered them into the larger meeting room meant more for public meetings rather than normal project ones. The windows along the one wall would be a serious security breach if they ever wrote anything on the whiteboards. For this meeting though, they were going to need the extra room and the shades could be pulled if needed, though all the trees surrounding the building on three sides generally provided all the privacy they needed, save for days the grounds keepers were doing their jobs. This wasn't one of those days…

"Reebee!" Celebi said, going straight for the windows to look out as a small bird took off from the ground.

…fortunately.

"Well, stay here," telling everyone after letting Grovyle out of his Pokéball. "I'll go gather the team; I'm sure they're all out in the lab. There's bottles of water in the small fridge there if you're thirsty." After Blaze, Chris, Grovyle and his swampert counterpart nodded their understanding, he left. Celebi…well, the others would make sure she didn't leave.

"Leo!" Ticonamo, being closest to the door, greeted with a grin. "We've been waiting for you. We're getting ready to start the first Phase One tests, and you're needed to…"

"I'd wait on that a bit," he replied, looking around for everyone else.

Pushing his glasses further up the bridge up his nose, "Does this have anything to do with that meeting Sally setup for this morning?"

"Oh, definitely. And we're going to be in there a while."

"Eh…this doesn't sound good."

_Just wait_, Leo thought. Getting the attention of George and Naomi, he waved them down off the balcony, Professor Werner and Sally soon popping up from behind the main console as well.

"So what's this about?"

Turning back for the door, he found Ticonamo frowning. "Well, get ready for one hell of a surprise. Actually, several of them." As soon as everyone was gathered by the doors, he jumped into a quick forewarning of who was waiting for them in the conference room, hoping to take at least a little edge off the coming shock while carefully not explaining who the swampert was…yet. Telling them there was a celebi as well as a Pokémon who could talk already was generating more than enough questions.

* * *

Leo listened as carefully as everyone else, jumping in only to correct or add a few clarifications as his human self told a greatly abbreviated version of his and Blaze's story on the Poke world, deftly pushing off all questions till later. Yet it wasn't until he revealed they were, in fact, the same person until only three years ago with the creation of a new timeline, that the room really erupted. And that was still before he got to the mission Dialga and Palkia sent them on.

Chris took over with his end of the story, telling of his first meeting with the two of them and continuing through their encounter with the two "visitors" to their camp and the grey-suited man at the Pokécenter.

His human self wrapped it up with their confrontation in the park with one of the men who had been following them. "_Now_, are there any questions?" he finally asked after visibly bracing himself as Celebi floated near him, apparently distracting most of the humans.

After a moment of everyone glancing at everyone else, "Well, geeses, where do we start?" one of the men asked. George, Leo remembered from the introductions. Gesturing with several waves of his hand, "Pokémon from another world, a swampert who can talk and who's really you but from a now erased timeline, Pokémon only found in legend, a looming disaster…Celebi, and these visions from the future you've been having…along with him," pointing to Leo. Shaking his head, "When you said you had a few surprises for us, you really _weren't_ kidding, were you? I mean, come on, Holy…"

"Leo told me all this on Saturday," Sally interrupted, speaking up for the first time. "So I had a heads-up about it. But Leo, you didn't tell me about the people following you guys."

"It wasn't until we were at the park later on Saturday we started thinking it could be serious," his human self replied.

Holding up a hand, the almost shaggy blonde-haired George leaned forward. "Wait a sec, Sally…you think all this is…_true_, then? No offense, Leo."

Leo didn't take any, though knowing it was meant for his human self.

She opened her mouth, staring at both him and his human self before actually speaking, "I think so. All the evidence seems to support it, and I have no better explanation for those two _identical_ distortions around them. Not only that, we've all worked on this project long enough to know there's all kinds of theoretical possibilities, including time travel. Celebi's presence here I think is also proof of that."

"How's that?" the long black-haired human female, Naomi, asked.

"You don't know about her?" the man with the thick clear glasses, Ticonamo, responded. "She has the ability to time travel, if the stories about her are true."

"Time travel?"

Celebi floated her light green self in front of Naomi. "Of course I can! But I don't use it much because time travel is dangerous."

"Huh?"

Leo quickly translated.

Sally continued: "The theories and equations we developed hint at the possibility, but of course we're after space travel, not time travel. Since time travel is I think, possible, then changing the past also probably is. Further, if at this point we're about to begin Phase One, then if in another timeline there was some planet-threatening disaster in which our very survival depended on finishing the gate, getting it working, and using it to send one of us to another planet, don't you think we all could of pulled together to finish sooner than we are now?"

George sighed, shaking his head. "Well, probably, I guess. I mean, if we worked twenty-four hours a day, I'm sure we could of finished a few months ago. I don't know about the rest of you though, but I'd be dead at the end."

"So the gate does, or did, work though," Ticonamo said. "I guess that's something. Actually, that's a lot, just knowing that."

The oldest man, obvious by his grey hair and wrinkles, and according to his human self the one who really controlled the project, cleared his throat. "So, the bottom line is this project may be at the root of this coming disaster? Can't this…Dialga, be more specific though?" directing the question to Leo instead of his human self. "Like what _is_ it, exactly?"

The question seemed surprisingly to the point; the older human had also appeared the least surprised by his ability to speak. Bracing himself on the wooden table and leaning over it toward the Professor: "Dialga says he doesn't have clear vision of the future, but he says whatever it is will likely happen within two weeks, and will cause considerable destruction. It made him worried enough that he risked sending me, Blaze, Celebi as well as himself and Palkia to this world to try and prevent it."

"I…see. So an effort to change the past again, so to speak?"

"Except none of us are from the future this time around," Leo replied.

"But you have knowledge of the future nonetheless. Therefore it will happen, no matter what we do."

The Professor was sharp, no doubt about that! "Hopefully we can use that knowledge to create another, better future for us. One that doesn't have a disaster. We done it before."

"Question is, can that be done before we actually experience this disaster?"

It was a question better suited for Dialga. Looking to Celebi for help, she floated over to the Professor, making him smile at least a little. "We won't know until we try, senior human," she said with a smile.

From across the table with his arms folded, Grovyle appeared to stifle a laugh.

Leo translated what she said, save for the last two words.

"But wouldn't this same disaster we're facing now have happened in the other time line too?" Ticonamo asked. "Maybe that could give us a clue as to what is supposed to happen."

"Different circumstances, I think," his human self answered. "We did something different or we got lucky, and there was already was something else happening on this planet, supposedly some effect from that Temporal Tower's collapse on the Poke planet that drove me and Grovyle to go there. You still don't remember what _that_ disaster was yet, do you?"

'Disaster' was the word Sally used, not him. Other then some vague feeling from his memory of Sally and from what Dialga had said, he didn't know what the effect was to the human world. Certainly, it had to be as his human self put it: bad enough to force him and Grovyle to leave for the Poké world.

About to shake his head in answer, he realized almost with a start that he _did_ recall… something… "We were…under a lot of pressure to…complete it in time," he started slowly, the memories in fragments, disjointed. "We…detected…dimensional distortions emanating from a nearby solar system. Almost as soon as we completed the DV detector." Was he really starting to remember this? It wasn't a torrent and nothing too specific, but bit by disjointed bit, enough was coming back to for him to string the basic story back together. Maybe being in the building and in presence of everyone, all his old teammates…

Closing his eyes to help him concentrate: "The distortions…they were…growing, gaining intensity. They, at first…they did little harm; later…they grew into shocks, caused earthquakes…ozone breaks in the air, other…disasters, each worse than before. We…we worked...a lot…day and night…" He opened his eyes, glancing at Sally. _She_ was prominent… "…racing to get the gate completed, before our world was destroyed. Grovyle and I traveled to the source planet to find the source of the distortions and stop them."

After, it was silent for several moments until George uttered a "My God." Then: "What that Darkrai did on that planet doomed all of us here then too? One tower supposedly did all that? Dialga better be keeping that thing guarded, I hope!"

"It's hidden in it's own space outside time, from what Blaze and I have been told," his human self answered.

Closest to Leo, Naomi swiveled her chair around and leaning forward, stared directly into his eyes. "That's _really_ you in there, Leo?"

He saw a brief flash of her, doing something similar to him but in a different setting. Like many of the other things he almost recalled, he couldn't hang onto the memory. "It's me. But I still don't have most my memories. I do remember it was the ring that got me and Grovyle to the Poké world. That much I am certain of now." Also amid the jumble of memories welling up he realized a few he _wasn't_ about to share with the group. Daring another glance at Sally, he noticed all eyes on him for the next moment, including Blaze's.

"You remember that much now?" Blaze asked, cocking his head with widened eyes in his red face.

"Just some more fragments, but enough to know what I just said. That last year was a dark time here. This world was falling apart around us."

"Sounds like we didn't have a very fun time in that other timeline," Naomi said, leaning back and brushing her long black and shiny hair back behind her. "I'm glad you were able to change it, even though…uh…you ended up like you are."

But not everything in the other timeline was unpleasant! Again, not that he was going tell them about _that_. Instead: "I have no regrets being what I am now. Besides, I wouldn't had gained the best friend ever," glancing to Blaze.

"I feel the same about you, Leo," Blaze returned.

Actually, the part about no regrets wasn't entirely true anymore. He did have to leave something very precious behind…

"You're a braver…person than I am," Ticonamo commented, apparently not knowing which of him to look at in glancing back and forth. "I don't know if I could have gone on what was essentially a suicide mission."

"_I've_ gone on no such mission," Leo Hanson returned, pointing from himself to Leo. "He did."

"But you did, in that timeline, if all this is true," Naomi pointed out.

From Blaze's reaction, Leo knew they were treading into sensitive territory. Anything to do with his 'death' was touchy. "I'm not sure how much bravery had to do with it. What kind of life would we have had if Grovyle and I hadn't sacrificed ourselves by changing the past and erasing ourselves from existence? The Earth would have been destroyed and the Poké world frozen in a unending, unchanging wasteland forever. We might as well have been dead with that kind of future." That was putting it rather bluntly and he checked Blaze to make sure he was alright. Indeed, he seemed fine and was even nodding.

"Good way to put it," his red and white haired friend said, though Grovyle's expression became sad.

"Sorry Grovyle, didn't mean to speak for you," Leo told him, though that was how the Grovyle he knew felt about it.

"So," the Professor started, waiting for everyone's attention, "the decision we have now is what do we do based on what, well, the two Leo's have told us. Boy, that feels and sounds weird. Anyway, Leo…er, both of you, I suspect I already know what you're going to suggest."

His human self took the initiative in answering: "I was thinking we should stop the project, for now at least, and review all our theories and everything else, double check for errors and maybe think of ways anything could go wrong. If this gate causes the disaster, then there must be an error somewhere or something we've overlooked."

"Alright, just hold it now," George said, quickly standing. "Granted, all this sounds…logical, I guess if you assume a number of things, and I'm not opposed to double-checking our work, but we've already done that, several times over! And do we have any _proof _that any of this is true? I don't mean to insult anyone here, I've known all of you for several years now, including my lab buddy Grovyle…"

Grovyle reached up to give a pat to the blonde-haired project member.

"…but all we really have is this…er, _talking_ swampert's word for everything. Granted, Celebi is here, but even it is only _rumored_ to have a time travel ability…"

"You want proof?"

Leo backed up from the table, though Celebi's tone sounded far worse than the simple question she asked.

Everyone in the room froze when she shot over to hover just in front of George's face. With a most peculiar smile, she gently touched her light green hand to his face, earning a surprised expression from George as he didn't move. In fact, he smiled just a little as her smile broadened. Then, starting out almost unnoticeably, she started glowing with a gentle white light, spreading quickly to surround George and rapidly gaining intensity. Within seconds, the light became bright enough to hide both of them before fading almost instantly…

"What the…!" Ticonamo exclaimed, rising out of his chair along with everyone else. Grovyle jumped way back from the space, almost hitting the wall behind him.

"They're gone!" Naomi nearly shouted.

Sally hesitantly stepped over before quickly waving her hand through the space George had been occupying, finding nothing but air and gaining a stunned expression.

"That's…incredible…" Chris said quietly.

Looking and sounding just as unsettled, "That's…well, what just happened?" the Professor asked.

Leo noted his human self staring at him with a slightly angry look about him. Although he hadn't seen Celebi actually use her ability before, he could make a good guess what she was doing. "He needed proof," he answered simply, Blaze adding a good chuckle in response.

"Alright, _when_ did they go?" his human self returned.

Blaze shrugged, readjusting himself in his chair to lay his tail under the arm rest and adopting a more relaxed posture. He was still slightly grinning as he started playing with the chair's swiveling feature.

"Don't know," Leo replied. "I'm sure she'll bring him back soon." At least, he hoped she did!

"Well…uh, we need him back!" Sally half shouted, apparently getting over her initial shock.

Leo at once wished he could accommodate the red-head, but Celebi didn't say when she… He nearly missed the initial soft glow appearing next to Sally, but it grew within seconds to something near blinding. Sally almost didn't back up in time before the light started fading again, revealing both George and Celebi, in exactly the same positions as when they disappeared.

It was George's turn to appear shocked as he looked around to everyone. "How…did you all move so quickly?"

Celebi started giggling.

Clearing his throat, "George…you've been gone for about one minute," the Professor informed, clearly in awe himself.

"Is that proof enough?" Leo asked while everyone else remained silent. Celebi floated over to him and Blaze, the unmistakable look of satisfaction on her small face. Words weren't necessary.

"I…well…" the shaggy blonde-haired human stammered. "…ah…wow. OK, Celebi can time-travel…I guess."

It took a few minutes for everyone to settle back down, Grovyle walking around behind him and Blaze in the meantime. "Do you do that often?" asking Celebi.

"Only when I have to," answering sweetly.

"Alright, so I think we should postpone the project for while," Leo Hanson said, continuing with what he thought they should do about the upcoming disaster, though there were still many glances toward Celebi.

"I agree," Sally said with nod. "And truthfully, I think we've been rushing the competition a little this last week. We very well could have made an error somewhere."

"But that _is_ what Phase One is supposed to help ferret out," Ticonamo pointed out.

"What about something that only Phase Two would uncover? That is when something is supposed to go wrong, right?"

Leo nodded with his human self, though no one was looking at him. The words he saw on the screen in the one vision were unmistakable.

"We know Phase One isn't going to test everything," Sally continued, brushing some of her long red hair back in place, still getting herself back together after Celebi's 'proof' apparently. "New theories come into play in Phase Two, and if one of our equations is wrong, like with the interaction between EMF energies and the dimensional fabric, or with the calculated angle of interference, we could let loose an awful amount of energy. Or even something we can't foresee or predict."

"What does all that mean?" Blaze asked in leaning over.

Leo shrugged. _That_ knowledge he hadn't yet recovered.

Sally went on: "I'm thinking there's perhaps a few dozen areas we ought to revisit instead of rushing headlong into this."

Shaking his head, "We hadn't exactly rushed headlong into this," George countered, having finally regained his own composure. "We developed our equations over years, and tested them thoroughly before we even started construction. _That_ process wasn't rushed…"

"No, we tested to the extent we knew," Ticonamo interrupted. "There could be more parts to those equations and theories we know nothing about. What if a stray cosmic particle streams in from space to impact the portal for instance?" Throwing up his hands, "I have no idea what would happen. I think we should take some more time and…"

"There goes half our funding," Naomi interjected. "That isn't going to sit well with Derganio, but that doesn't mean stopping for a while isn't the right thing to do, but for how long?"

"Then we take more time in Phase One and…"

Leo retreated a little from the table to stand next to Blaze as the arguments continued, sometimes to the point of questioning his story yet again. After a little while, he found himself shaking his head, not just at the technical complexity of the project itself, but over what seemed like the clear thing to do.

Laying a reassuring hand on his shoulder, Blaze started whispering: "This reminds me of when we tried convincing the Guild to believe us when we told them the truth about Dusknoir after we returned from the future. They eventually came around and did the right thing. These humans seem like good humans. And your human self obviously believes in them."

"It just doesn't look like he should at the moment," Leo replied as a near shouting match erupted between George, Ticonamo and Naomi.

"Hey, enough!" the Professor yelled after attempts by Sally and his human self failed. After everyone had a moment and sat back into their chairs, "Alright, we have some differences of opinion here, that's obvious. But maybe that just shows that we should pause the project for a while and think things through."

His human self nodded, "I know what I told you all is a lot, and I can see where it could be hard to believe, Celebi's little demonstration notwithstanding. To tell you the truth, I'm still coming to grips with some it myself. But maybe taking a break is a good idea and will give us time to sort it all out."

"It's not a bad idea," Sally added.

A slight look of relief spread across the Professor's face, smoothing out a few wrinkles. "Well, unless all of you strongly object, I'm going send everyone home for the week."

"What?" George exclaimed before the Professor motioned him back down.

"I know Derganio is going to ask a lot of questions, but I think I can make them understand we feel we need to double check some things as the consequences of something going wrong could be catastrophic. So after we leave here, I want everyone to bring home all the documentation we have so far and just go over things at home. I encourage you to meet with each other and look at our theories and equations in a new light. Maybe we'll discover something. Hopefully when we're all back next week, we'll have rested minds and fresh insights, because I admit I've been driving you pretty hard the last few weeks. We can decide how to proceed at that time. Everyone agreeable?"

There were a number of sighs around the table, but also unanimous nods.

"Then it's settled. Make sure your laptops have full security enabled and have a good week, everyone."

"See?" Blaze beamed with a smile, his teeth showing.

Leo reached over to ruffle up his mane, happy his friend had faith in them even if he didn't so much. "Yes, you were right."

"Of course they would do the right thing," Grovyle said, as if the outcome was never in doubt.

"So, they did listen to you and the other Leo," Celebi added, still floating around them.

"Well, a whole week off," Ticonamo said in getting up. "Maybe we should all meet somewhere on Wednesday to touch base."

"Not a bad idea," Naomi seconded, getting up but quickly facing Leo. "It's just so…unbelievable…becoming a Pokémon. How did it happen, exactly?"

"Only Darkrai knows, and he no longer has his own memories," Leo answered.

She raised her relatively delicate hand to touch him on the forehead. "What's it like…being a Pokémon? What's the Poké world like?"

His human self came to stand behind her. "Maybe we can all talk later this week."

"Huh? Oh right. You have that beautiful patio on your roof, don't you? Maybe we can meet for a day at your house?"

Sally was soon behind him too. "Ooo, now _that_ sounds like a good idea," sounding fairly excited by the prospect.

Sighing, "I think I'm being cornered into this."

Leo had to admit it sure sounded that way, but he certainly wouldn't mind seeing Sally again.

On the Professor's urging, everyone else left (not without several wistful looks at Celebi), leaving just Leo, his human self, Chris, Blaze, Grovyle, Celebi and the Professor in the room.

"Professor, thanks."

"Yes, I hope this will prevent the disaster," Leo added to what his human self said.

"Well, I hope we find what the flaw is so we can fix it," the older man replied. "It'd be a shame to waste six years of effort. But your story…" and he looked between all of them, "it's going to take some time to digest. I think I'm envious, too. What an adventure!"

"It's been that," Blaze quipped. "But I've made some great friends along the way."

Leo smiled, touching the gills on one side of his face before translating.

"What I wouldn't give to meet that Dialga and Palkia," the Professor went on. "The knowledge they must have…"

"Which they probably wouldn't tell us, if I had to guess," his human self said.

Sighing, "Well, that would probably be for the best. Anyway, I should get my stuff together too. It's going to seem strange not being here for a week, although in dealing with Derganio, I'll probably have to pop in a few times. Get some rest Leo…uh, both of you. You've earned it by the sound of it." With a curious smile, the older human left the room.

His human self collapsed into the nearest chair, letting out a massive sigh in reaching for his bottle of water. "I gotta admit, I really wasn't expecting to have been able to convince any of them."

"You underestimate yourself," Leo replied.

"And you should know, huh?"

Chris, who had been quite most the entire time, finally got up. "Can't say I understood a lot of that when you were talking about the details, though Celebi's time travel demonstration was great, by the way…"

"Thank you," Celebi responded.

"…but what could happen if 'something bad' happened?"

His human self took a drink from the bottle, swallowing slowly. "Depends. And we really don't know the full extent of all the possibilities. I suppose it could range from sending someone to the wrong destination, like the heart of a sun, to exploding, to maybe even dragging in parts of whatever location it erroneously connects with." Throwing up a hand, "Too many remote possibilities, and I'm too drained to think of them all. How about I get my stuff together and we go somewhere for lunch?"

Along with himself, that got Blaze and Grovyle up in a hurry.

* * *

Terminating the secure connection, the form sitting in front of the phone terminal was already pondering the unexpected news.

So, the project was suspended? The logic behind it was certainly sound enough and although he thought something like this might happen, the manner and timing of it surprised him. Leo Hanson and his swampert counterpart were moving quickly. Too quickly. But they couldn't suspect the project's real purpose, at least not yet…could they?

Still, the suspension could perhaps be turned to an unexpected advantage; moving sooner was certainly better now given recent events. At first hesitating with his finger in front of the screen, he finally touched the few buttons, making another secure connection.

"Yes?" the man, dressed in his usual dark grey suit, answered in a gruff voice just after appearing on the screen.

"We're going to set the bait. Begin your end of it."

Removing his sunglasses, the man revealed hazel-blue eyes and more of his older, chiseled face. "Already?"

"Yes. Due to unexpected events, we need to move forward quickly now. This is what I want you to tell them..." In a few sentences, he told his agent exactly he wanted him to divulge. "And don't be sloppy about it; they already know they'd been under surveillance."

The man returned a pained grimace. "Understood."

Sighing, he terminated the connection. Although not exactly as he predicted, everything was still falling into place with a few adjustments. Yet all of this was just prep work; the biggest risk was coming up and he had to be ready. Dialga and Palkia would surely sense the subterfuge eventually, it was merely a matter of time…and space.

Standing, he slowly stretched his tall, thin frame, reaching his arms above his head for a good few moments before moving to the window and pulling the blinds. The late afternoon sun streamed in, slightly hurting his eyes. But he forced himself to endure it and focus; sharpening his mind was crucial, for the time of conflict was fast approaching. He could sense it.


	12. Chapter 12: Complications

**Chapter 12: Complications**

Leo Hanson finished cleaning up after breakfast, wondering what to do the rest of the day. It was a weird feeling being home on a weekday while the city around got back to work. It also felt weird having the house to himself since Grovyle was always around, but he could see Grovyle's desire to participate in matches again, at least for the moment, and so let him leave for the park with Chris, Blaze and his Pokémon counterpart as they continued practicing for the upcoming League Tournaments.

The thought crossed his mind of 'lending' Grovyle to Chris to help bolster his team even more, especially since his Pokémon counterpart with his broken arm could do little other then advise on the sideline. The League rules allowed for advisors during the tournaments, and they weren't specific that such advisors had to be human…

He had to chuckle at that after starting the dishwasher. How strange would that be? Taking it one step further, with the ability to speak in human language, what if his counterpart decided to become a trainer himself, like a few on the subway yesterday thought? He sometimes felt the desire to 'get back into it' - surely his counterpart would share that?

After making his way to the small office nook just off the living room, he setup his laptop from work and made the decision to make the offer to Chris and Grovyle. It would be weird watching someone else give commands to Grovyle, but he deserved the chance to compete if that's what he wanted.

The system quickly finished booting, and after typing his password and swiping his finger over the small built-in scanner, got past the formidable security. Even if someone physically broke into the laptop and extracted the data storage device, all they would find is 4096-bit encrypted data, something that would take even the ten most powerful computers networked together many, many years to break. It was of course, a reflection of the potential problems the project's technology could cause if it ever was misused or used incorrectly.

Another unfamiliar feeling as of late was of things going right. The Professor's decision to suspend the project was the right call in his mind, even if sending them all home for the week felt a little over the top. Maybe the Professor had a good point though about wanting them to lay back, take time to think about everything and come back with a new perspective. Not a bad plan if you're trying to uncover some problems that you suspect might exist but can't otherwise see because you need to take a step back.

Still drastic, though. And he really had to wonder what Derganio's reaction was going to be. In retrospect, he definitely sensed they had been rather "pushy" as of late.

The documentation archive soon came up, providing a table-of-contents view of all the theories, equations, and experimental data they had produced over the project's six-year life. Just as he was deciding the best place to begin, the phone interrupted with it's trilling from the other desk. Sally's face appeared as soon as he answered. "Oh, hi. What's up?"

She smiled. "Well, it feels strange to be home on a weekday."

"Yeah, tell me about it."

"So, I was just wondering if…you wouldn't mind if I come over and maybe we could attack some of the equations together. And I guess I have other questions too. I mean, I know you have company, so if you're busy and all…"

Although it surprised him some, he actually felt glad she asked. "No, actually it'll be fine. Chris and the Pokémon are going to be at the park for most the day practicing for the Tournament. Even Grovyle went with him. It's just me here and well, it does feel like I should be working."

"So you're alone…" She grinned briefly. "Well, um, how about I come over in an hour then? Maybe we could go someplace for lunch too."

At first, he didn't think much of it after he agreed and they terminated the connection. After all, it was something they did at work all the time. Only…the others weren't going to be around. In fact, this would be the first time he was really going to be alone with her, save for some occasional late nights at the lab.

Then it struck him that her manner had been slightly…different. And all the little things she'd been doing for him lately, like buying the chocolates, and always treating him just a bit different then the others… The realization came that it possibly was adding up to something. But was she just being a friend, or…

Probably reading too much into it.

Still…

* * *

Electabuzz was staring down the treecko, with neither trainer having given a command for several moments. Neither side had any particular vulnerabilities or strengths against the other, which had been born out by the first attacks; although Electabuzz probably was at disadvantage ability-wise, he was more evolved and therefore physically stronger. But how to use it?

Leo could sense the concentration Chris was exerting and wished he had a suggestion.

"If only I was in there," Blaze commented.

"Maybe that'd make it too easy," Leo whispered back. "He's going to have to use physical attacks and not his electrical ability. This is good training."

"Wonder how high he can jump?"

Blaze's question made obvious what he was thinking. But infernapes were good jumpers, making the knock-out blow he gave the other grovyle in the gym battle possible. Electabuzz, he guessed, probably wouldn't be able to manage it.

"Electabuzz, slam!"

"Huh? What is…"

Before Blaze could finish his question, Electabuzz was off and running straight for the treecko. The treecko deftly moved out of the way at the same time Electabuzz veered at the last instance and spread his arms, just catching the dodging green Pokémon with the very end of his fist to knock it over.

It was a light hit though and the treecko was back up in a hurry.

"I think he was trying to run straight into him," Blaze observed. "If he's going to use physical attacks, he has to move closer, otherwise he isn't fast enough."

Leo found himself in agreement: it seemed the best solution was to stay close and take whatever hits the treecko could dish out, knowing that Electabuzz could dish out more punishing attacks up close.

The other trainer called out his attack; the treecko moved quickly to go around Electabuzz before spinning and impacting his tail against the backside of Electabuzz's knee. The yellow and black-striped Pokémon stifled a wail as he did his own spin to just knick the treekco's head, knocking him over.

"Thunderbolt!" Chris commanded.

Electabuzz responded by glowing briefly before the brilliant spark jumped the space between him and the treecko while it was just jumping up. The treecko went to it's knees, though it was clear the attack didn't have a lasting effect on him.

"Keep him on the attack!" Leo said from behind Chris. "Keep doing physical attacks…"

"I know!" Chris yelled back. "Electabuzz, keep hitting, stay close!"

Electabuzz grimaced, his knee obviously bothering him, but landed some weak hits despite the treecko moving and jumping quickly around him.

Holding a hand back behind him, Chris was giving the impression of waiting for something while the treecko and Electabuzz continued trading blows, nothing too serious, as the two Pokémon danced around each other. But slowly Electabuzz was working closer by letting the treecko get in to land hits…

"Slam!" Chris yelled just as the treecko got right in front to land a blow.

Electabuzz jumped forward in an instant, using his entire body to impact squarely into the much smaller Pokémon. The treecko fall backward, solidly hitting the ground with Electabuzz fully on top and driving him into the grassy field. It was effectively a double hit.

The teenager on the other side screamed, running onto the field. It was as everyone suspected; when Electabuzz rolled off the other Pokémon, he wasn't moving.

"The doctor will be busy," Blaze said in jumping up from his crouched stance, worry evident in his grimace. "That poor thing."

Leo moved with Chris and Blaze onto the field; Chris gave Electabuzz a well-deserved pat on the back, but everyone's eyes were on the treecko.

After the other trainer reached his arms under the little guy to lift him off the ground, only then did it open it's eyes.

"Don't worry, he's a tough little guy," Chris consoled.

"He…is…too…big," the treecko said weakly, clearly still half out of it.

The teenager visibly breathed a little easier at the words from his friend, though he certainly couldn't understand them, before hurrying off the field in the direction of the nearby Pokécenter.

"Tough opponent for his size," Electabuzz commented, before walking toward their end of the field with a slight limp.

"Looks like you'll be heading for the Pokécenter too this morning, buddy," Chris said after him.

Electabuzz waved him off. "This is nothing."

Leo felt compelled to translate it.

"Same 'ol Electabuzz," Chris said with a shake of his head.

Electabuzz stopped short – someone was standing in their trainer box, and Grovyle had backed up to the bench behind the box, acting weary. Clad in dark-grey clothes and dark sunglasses, the black-haired man had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. "Quite an impressive battle," he commented gruffly.

Bolting to Leo's side, "Leo, is that the man from yesterday and the one at the Pokécenter?" Blaze asked.

"The voice is difference than the human from yesterday," he could tell immediately. In human speak: "Chris, that's him from the Pokécenter."

Chris glanced at him, then back at the man. "So there _are_ two of them," he mumbled.

The man almost imperceptibly upturned one corner of his mouth. "Care for a battle?" he said, slowly unclipping a blue and white ball from his belt. "I'd love to battle your swampert there."

Blaze took a step forward, partly shielding him. "Can't you see he has a broken arm? You should already know that, following us around and everything!"

"He's not available for battling, if you haven't noticed the cast on his arm," Chris replied, his eyebrows lowering just a little.

Tossing his Pokéball into the air a little, the man caught it on the way down, his grip looking solid and strong. "Ah, that's too bad. I thought that was the case, but I had to ask anyway. He looked like your most powerful Pokémon. And ones that can speak in our language…well, they're unique, should I say?"

Leo at once realized he spoke out loud in front of what could have been exactly the wrong person! Or did he already know? He didn't look surprised at all…

Smiling unnervingly, "Well, your electabuzz looks worn out…"

Electabuzz hissed.

"…as does your grovyle, so how about your infernape?"

Leo could tell by Chris's stance he was feeling defensive all of the sudden. But he kneeled down next to Blaze: "Well, we did come here for practice," he said quietly, "But if this is one of the guys who was following us near the Pokécenter, I certainly don't trust him. I'll leave it up to you if you want to battle whatever he has, Blaze. I'm game if you are."

Facing Leo, "Maybe I can beat some answers out of his Pokémon…and then turn on him!" Blaze almost shouted.

Leo had the feeling it might not be that easy. Whispering in human speak: "If he and the human from yesterday are part of a team, then don't you think there's a good chance whatever Pokémon he has will be as tough as one of those charizards?"

Chris grunted. "Well, we do have Electabuzz, Pikachu, Elekid, Wartortle and Grovyle if we need them," he reminded. "And so far, I only see him with the one Pokéball."

Blaze looked behind them at the man where he was still standing on their side of the field, Electabuzz carefully staying where he had stopped. "That's all I can see too."

Leo nodded, also confirming. "But that ball is blue."

"Just means it's a higher power ball is all," Chris replied. "Whatever Pokémon he captured with it may have required it, which in turn probably means a more powerful Pokémon…or else he was too lazy to weaken it first before capturing it. Or is just plain rich and is showing off. Still, seeing this guy, I'd bet on the first possibility."

"I'll take him," Blaze announced. "If there's any chance we can get some answers out of him, I have to take it."

Leo patted his partner's shoulder, quietly translating what he said to Chris.

Chris grinned, giving a pat on the infernape's yellow-haired spot on his shoulder as well. "Don't let anyone say you aren't brave, but let's be extra careful here," he said before standing up. To the man: "Alright, we'll have a match then, but I want to know first why are you so interested in Leo? What were you doing at the Pokécenter a few days ago when I took him there?"

The man froze only for the merest of instants. "If you win, maybe I'll tell you."

Chris huffed, mumbling a "Figures." Louder: "Your side of the field is over there," pointing to the opposite end.

A bigger smile spread across the man's hard-edged face and removing his sunglasses, revealed pale hazel-blue eyes which contrasted a little with his short black hair. "Very good. This will be a good battle, I think."

Leo followed Chris and Blaze back to their side of the field, Blaze just staying within bounds.

"That human is hiding something," Grovyle said, joining the rest of them from the bench.

"Another Pokéball?" Leo asked.

"Not that, but he's being deceptive. He believes he's going to win, otherwise he wouldn't have made the offer to tell why he's been following you."

That was probably obvious, but Grovyle reinforced his suspicion.

After the man reached his end of the field, he held out the blue Pokéball, releasing what was inside.

Electabuzz and Grovyle both gasped as Blaze flinched.

Leo also felt stunned at sight of the large Blastoise.

"Ah…" Grovyle stammered, his mouth agape. "This…isn't good. Maybe I should fight…"

Electabuzz was quickly tapping Chris, getting his attention. "Even the best infernape doesn't stand a chance against that! Let me fight him! I'm the only one who has a chance! Grovyle is still more tired then I from his match, and Elekid and Pikachu aren't powerful enough." From his desperate glance, Leo instantly knew he wanted him to translate for him.

"Blaze, Electabuzz is right," Chris said urgently after the translation. "Let me send him in!"

Blaze appeared to consider for a few seconds, but shook his head. "I have to do this. I have a chance."

"Don't be stupid!" Electabuzz shouted, his fingers splayed in obvious frustration.

Leo quickly stepped up to his friend. "Blaze, there's nothing you need to prove. You're at a serious ability disadvantage, he overweighs you and he's way stronger physically. Blaze, please…" Back on their world, they did frequently fight other water types, even a few blastoises. But he was always with his partner and was able to take care of most water types himself. Here, he wouldn't be able to provide any such help. Blaze was going to be alone, and seemingly against the strongest and largest looking blastoise either of them had ever faced!

"Electabuzz is tired and hurt," Blaze pointed out.

"_I'd_ have good effect!" Grovyle said.

"No," Blaze said stubbornly, shaking his head with enough vigor that his red and yellow mane flew a little. "If I don't take him, then I will at least soften him up for Grovyle. That'll give him a advantage."

Electabuzz's mouth opened long before anything came out. "You're thinking like part of a team."

"I've always been part of a team!" Blaze replied with a hand on Leo's shoulder. "He wanted to battle me and I'm not backing down! Let me do this! _Believe in me_."

Leo saw the determination as well as the pride in his partner's expression, from his wrinkled red forehead and barely concealed sharp teeth to his balled-up fists and whipping tail. And that pride could end getting him badly hurt. He knew that if he tried to stop him though, he could get hurt even worse, and not physically. "He's determined to fight," translating back to Chris. "At the very least, he should be able to weaken that blastoise enough for whoever goes in next."

"Come on!" the man shouted over. "Are you ready yet?"

The blastoise seemed rather disciplined in merely waiting, not saying nor moving much; just…staring intently at them.

"Assuming he'll let us use more than one of you; this is a one-on-one match," Chris replied to both Leo and Blaze, sounding very undecided. Finally, he waved Grovyle out of the way to kneel behind Blaze. Laying a hand on his back, "OK then, if you're sure. Fire attacks are going to be out, since they won't do much good against it. Instead, let's save your strength for close in physical attacks. You're probably faster then that lumbering beast, so we should be able to attack from behind him, or even underneath. If he fires his water cannons, dodge without waiting for my instruction; there won't be time."

Blaze gave a single nod at the instructions, his determination only becoming more evident as his body tensed.

"Hey, you have to call attacks out loud there, buddy!" the man shouted gruffly across the distance.

Standing up again, "Oh don't worry," Chris shouted back, "all my attacks will be loud and clear! Pre-battle strategy is perfectly legal!"

"Whatever. Let's go then!"

"He's impatient too," Grovyle commented. "He's been following you up to now, seemingly trying to remain unnoticed. So what does he have to gain by now coming out in the open like this and confronting you directly?"

His question seemed like a good one, Leo thought. "Perhaps a consequence of us confronting his teammate yesterday?"

Grovyle nodded with a quick hiss. "Even so, he's giving up the ability to keep himself anonymous."

Leo wanted to continue the line of thought, but the battle was beginning.

* * *

"So, by taking the coefficient of the wavelength and multiplying by the radial power squared, that gives us the variable… here." Sally leaned around him to point to that part of the three-line equation displaying on the screen, tapping her other finger on the desk.

Leo Hanson stared at it, getting a whiff of her subdued but flower-scented perfume and wondering if there was an alternative way of stating the equation, one that might possibly allow for more variables. Of course there were always such possibilities, but as far as he knew, no way to discover them. Leaning back after a sigh, "You know, this is one of the first equations we came up with, and it's just a variation of one of the equations used in Pokéball dimensional technology. If anything, it's one of the most tested. If there is anything wrong here, it'd have major implications."

Sally seemed to consider him before leaning back herself. "Best place to start, then. Make sure we have the basic stuff sound."

Looking between the screen and her, he noted her gaze was at him a little more than the screen. Then he heard it…the sound of a stomach, and not his. "You know something else?" he asked. "I'm starving. How about that lunch?"

A pleasant smile forming on her face, "Was wondering when you were going to ask."

* * *

Leo nearly cringed when Blaze almost didn't dodge the water pulse in time; bits of grass and dirt went flying in a dirty mixture as the twin thin walls of water forcibly impacted the ground he'd just been occupying a fraction of a second before.

The man's blastoise was without question bigger then the ones he and Blaze ran into, and with a Pokémon of his size, it surely had tremendous water reserves in addition to great power. The force it was shooting out it's water pulses from the twin orifices in it's hard shell certainly exceeded his own!

If there was any weakness it it's attack, it was that he had to turn his entire body to aim, being that the openings were merely that: holes where water was released with no ability to aim, unlike being able to turn his head like most other water variety Pokémon.

As for Blaze being able to attack, that was proving more difficult then he imagined. For a large, heavy Pokémon, this blastoise was able to turn around quite well, allowing Blaze to get in only a few ineffective strikes from behind against it's hard shell. But at least Blaze was fast enough to avoid the water attacks, any one of which would have hurt him a great deal.

No, it seemed the only real vulnerable spot the blastoise had was underneath, and Blaze didn't seem like he had a chance in the molten depths of Dark Crater of striking there.

Blaze again had to move quickly in dodging another attack, going over the same spot where the previous water pulse hit the ground. Seemingly stumbling a little, he came close to falling.

Having already worked up a good sweat, Leo thought at first his partner was exhausted before realizing the ground was slick! Maybe…

In as low a voice as he could manage and still be heard: "Chris, the slick ground, maybe we can use it…"

Chris was already nodding. "You're right, but it's going to be tricky." Louder: "Blaze, come toward me!"

The infernape complied, in a few bounds getting to just beyond the spot where the previous attack hit the ground.

"Stop and use flamethrower!"

Leo instantly figured out what Chris was attempting, and needed a distance attack to do it, but Blaze looked confused. "Blaze, hurry!" he confirmed.

The other trainer wasn't giving any time though: "Blastoise, water shot!"

Blaze released his flamethrower just before the larger Pokémon shot out two slugs of water. It clearly wasn't an even match.

"Dodge, Blaze!" Leo shouted before Chris could get the same words out. Blaze leapt straight up even while the flames were still blowing out of his mouth, the two water slugs impacting the ground underneath him with enough force that a shockwave came up to keep him in the air a good second longer then normal. He cringed thinking of what that would have done to his partner if it had hit directly.

Blaze landed amid a small depression and a fair amount of mud.

"Blaze, back up and try again!"

He was quicker this time, getting the flame out immediately and almost before the blastoise could counter with a wider-coverage water pulse this time.

The red and white haired infernape again leapt, this time to the side, but the water attack caught just part of his tail, snapping it violently around and almost taking him with it. Blaze still managed to land on his feet, and Chris immediately ordered him all the way back to just in front of him and Leo.

Leo saw at once how his friend was starting to shake from exhaustion. The battle was getting long, and featured Blaze mostly dodging attacks. But now with most the field between them, any water attacks by the blastoise would be greatly weakened by the time they reached him, giving him at least a few seconds to catch his breath. If the blastoise wanted to press the attack, it would have to close the distance, at least a little…

The man on the other side seemed to refuse to lose his cool. He wasn't grinning, smiling, or giving any hint of emotion.

"Blaze, how are you doing?" Chris asked.

Looking back, the same determination was still on his face, but also along with fatigue. "Give me a way to land a good attack! I can't see a way to get a good strike in!"

"It's coming," Leo said in Poke speech. "Don't worry, we have a plan."

Blaze growled, turning back to face their opponent.

"Blastoise, get closer and keep pounding with water pulse only," the man commanded. "Conserve your water."

The large blue and brown turtle-like Pokémon nodded and started moving toward them on it's two large legs.

"Blaze, charge straight at it!"

"Ha ha! 'Bout time!" Blaze leapt forward and landed running on all fours at full speed straight for the blastoise.

"Blastoise, attack now!" the man screamed.

"Blaze, slide!"

Blaze hesitated for a mere instant, but which worked to his advantage as he landed on the ground at the edge of where the last water attack had hit to go sliding on the muddy mess…the last few attacks having made a nice, neat path straight under where the blastoise now stood! "Pound!" Chris screamed.

The blastoise couldn't react fast enough; the slick muddy surface gave the infernape nearly as great a speed as if he was running. And when Blaze arrived underneath, he shot his arms up, landing his fists with seemingly all his strength straight into the other Pokémon's lightly armored underside.

"Arrrr!" Gripping his lower stomach, the blastoise fell to his knees after Blaze safely slid out behind him.

"_Way_ _to go_, Blaze!" Leo shouted, jumping up with his good arm in the air. It was his partner's first really solid hit, and it was a punishing one!

Blaze got up, slowly, but was grinning in triumph.

"Blastoise!" the opposing trainer yelled. "Punch!"

Suddenly moving like it wasn't hurt at all, the Pokémon was up and whipping around it's much larger body.

At once, Leo realized in horror his partner's mistake in staying too close; almost in slow motion, he watched the blastoise's heavy, clawed fists impact Blaze's stomach, sending him flying to the edge of the field…

"Water shot!"

"Get up, get up!" Leo screamed. "BLAZE, GET…"

Still on the ground from the heavy blow, Blaze never looked in time to see the attack. Far more powerful then mere water pulses, both of the massive, potent water shots hit dead on, forcing the infernape back up into the air to impact hard against a tree trunk, well outside the boundaries of the field.

"Blaze!" Leo was running as fast as he could. His friend had never taken such a succession of powerful hits before in his life! He couldn't run fact enough, arriving over him only after several seconds. "Blaze! Blaze?"

His friend wasn't moving at all – he was as still as death. Frantic, he leaned close, holding a hand over his nose. He was still breathing…

Chris was suddenly on the other side of Blaze, a Pokéball already in hand. "We need to get him to the Pokécenter _now!_"

"He doesn't like Pokéballs!" Leo screamed.

"We get can him there faster if he's in one!"

"He battled well for a fire species."

With Chris, he looked to the man and his blastoise as they approached, but keeping their distance.

"Was that last hit necessary?" Chris shouted, anger evident as he shook. "He was already down!"

"He was still in bounds and moving," the man pointed out, replacing his sunglasses. "And as tough as it was proving, I expected him to get back up."

Leo hissed, infusing all the growl he could before taking the Pokéball out of Chris's hand. He ignored Chris and the man as they continued arguing and pointed the red and white ball at Blaze, hoping he would forgive him. "Blaze, it's the quickest way…" Pushing the button, the red glowing beam came from the ball to engulf his friend, quickly absorbing him into the confines of the ball before closing itself gently.

He completely ignored Chris as he was still engaging the man and leapt up. Blaze was his friend, and his top priority was to get him help as fast as he could, no matter what! Fortunately, having been there a couple times already, he knew the way to the Pokécenter and took off running, Grovyle and Electabuzz following.

"If I _ever_ see that man and his blastoise again, I'll personally choke the life out them!" Grovyle raged.

Leo barely acknowledged, but did notice Chris catching up after a few moments. Minutes passed, people scrambling to get out of their way as they came running into the Pokécenter, the couple seconds it took for the front doors to slide open being a couple seconds too many for him.

If anything happened to Blaze…he didn't know what he would do!

* * *

The lunch was perfect. The small cafe counter had a few tables on the sidewalk and being well past the noon lunch rush hour, was fairly cleared out. Leo Hanson sipped the freshly made tea, feeling relaxed after the food. "We need to take days off like this more often."

"Agreed," Sally replied from across the small wrought-iron table. "And I don't know about you, but I've had enough of equations for a while. Kinda all we been talking about while we were eating. We really should take the rest of the afternoon off; we are supposed to be returning next week refreshed you know."

She was right. But the Professor really had given them contradictory instructions. Work on the project's theories _and_ come back rested. "Maybe John thinks working on equations _is_ relaxing."

"He has a peculiar sense of relaxation, then" With a wry smile, "But then, he is peculiar at times."

"That he is," Leo agreed. Although, not any more so then most other university professors devoting their entire time to a project in place of teaching.

"So, how are you doing? I mean, you have a Pokémon walking around who used to be…or _is_ you. I can't begin to imagine what that feels like."

Staring down at his empty plate, he wondered just how to answer; he was still very much working his way through all that. There was the acceptance of the fact of it - in the face of the proof, there was no denying it anymore. But truly accepting it on a personal level…that was more difficult. "I guess I've been avoiding thinking too much about it. It's hard to get used to in a way. How does one talk to oneself? But he is a Pokémon and although the first thirty years of our life is common, his life has been very difference the last three years. So he really isn't same as me, is he?" framing it as a real question and not rhetorical.

Sally seemed to consider him a moment while pouring herself more hot water. "I don't know. What makes you, you? All I can say is to me, you are two different people. Maybe that makes his physical form and the last three years everything then."

"Maybe. That and he managed to save this planet and that Poké planet at least once. Grovyle too, but not _this_ Grovyle."

"How's _he_ holding up?"

At first he was going to answer just fine, but after a few seconds he knew that wasn't quite true. "He's gotten a sudden interest in battling again. Been a little moody too, the last few days. Not quite himself." He of course had to chuckle at what he just said. "Can't imagine why."

The red head smiled slightly while stirring the water in her cup after plunking in the tea bag. "From just a purely objective viewpoint, and don't take this personally as I would probably be feeling the very same way, but you and Grovyle went off to be heroes in another timeline. In _this_ timeline, and it's a much better one from all accounts, neither of you have done that – you haven't had the opportunity."

"Are you saying you think I'm feeling…jealous of _myself_?"

Wagging her finger lightly at him, "Two different people. But…" She grimaced, shrugged. "I don't know what I'm saying. If I were in your place, maybe I would be, just a little."

"He's a _Pokémon_, for God sakes! How could I be jealous of not having that done to me?"

"Sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up." Busying herself with the tea, she lifted the bag out, throwing it to the nearest trashcan.

Leo realized he was a little angry…perhaps she _was_ hitting a nerve. "No, I'm sorry. You might have a point. I just never thought about that aspect. Truthfully, I just don't know what I'm feeling. And you know, I should be asking you how you're holding up too."

"_Me?_ Oh I'm just taking the week off while we try to decide the fate of the project, like everyone else. That kind of pales in comparison to what you're facing. What about the other Leo: is he getting along well? Must be hard for him too, dealing with his lost memories and all. I certainly don't envy that."

"Well, if _I'm_ having trouble opening up, surely he does too," Leo half-heartedly joked. More seriously: "Most of the memories he is getting back are of a world that no longer exists. I don't know if he's happy or sad because of it. From what's he's said, the planet was being destroyed around him toward the end. I think I wish he could remember more, though."

"He and Blaze are pretty close, it seems. They've must have been through a lot together; the story you told us of what they did on the Poké world, it was the short version you said? The same as what the two of you told me on Saturday?"

Nodding, "Yeah. We left out a few details to shorten it, like some things from when he saved the tower and started to disappear. When…my counterpart told it to me, he...was a little emotional. His infernape friend too. It was painful for both of them, I think. To lose one's best friend like that, after you've been through so much together…one of them forced to carry on without the other, his friend being lost forever. I've thought about that off and on since, having the timeline you were unique to changed and causing your very existence to be erased, how it would affect others. Leaving them the gift of a better future… But, it only erased the last three years of my life and Grovyle's; otherwise neither of us would still be here." When he finally looked up again at Sally, he found her green eyes fixed on him, perhaps with a touch of sadness. "Dialga must be a good being, bringing my other self back in spite of the obvious problems."

She finally moved enough to have sip of her tea. "You know…I think I would miss you." Her lips twitched a little, forming a slight smile. "I need someone around to help me eat all that chocolate, after all."

It was obvious from her look and tone she meant it more than she was letting on, though he wondered how much.

* * *

The next hour seemed a blur to Leo: the nurses put Blaze on a padded cart and literally ran him through some swinging doors into a room full of unfamiliar equipment. Once there, they and a doctor moved quickly around him, attaching this wire or that tube with a needle while he was forced watch through a window.

He didn't know when, but eventually someone came by and closed the blinds, and when he protested in anger, was lead away by Chris to the front lobby area. But he was unable to lay on the benches for very long. Seeing some stairs and light from up there, he went up to the next level to find an outdoor balcony. It was scenic enough and provided a nice secluded spot to look over the city as the late afternoon wore on and the sun began to set. Humans moved to and fro everywhere, the wheeled boxes called cars and trucks and multitudes of bicycles clogging the streets below and around the Pokécenter; everyone had someplace to go…most likely home for most of them, he guessed.

He and Blaze…they were so very far from home. And Blaze…

The vicious hits he took kept replaying in his mind over and over. They weren't the ordinary attacks that either of them normally endured when they fought other Pokémon. These were very powerful, dished out from a stronger-than-usual Pokémon, and the blastoise used abilities that Blaze was weakest against. Those water slugs…they were especially injurious. The sight of his body slamming hard into the tree before falling limply…

Why…why did he not talk him out of fighting that beast? Letting his tears fall, he started fearing the worst. _Please let him be alright!_ he cried out to any unknown entity that would care.

From behind, he heard the glass door sliding open. Not that he cared, though soon two green hands joined his on the railing and for a while the owner said nothing.

Taking a deep breath to get himself back under control, "I should had seen what was going to happen. I should have talked him out of it."

Grovyle remained quiet for several heartbeats, then: "Second guessing the past serves but one master: Doubt." Leaning forward over the railing, "That's from an Unown translation."

His green friend didn't understand! "I could have prevented this!" If Blaze didn't make it, how would he _ever_ be able to forgive himself?

"I've only known the two of you for a few days, but from what I've seen it's obvious Blaze is a stubborn Pokémon. He wouldn't have let you talk him out of it, not without feeling hurt. Am I right?"

Pointing behind him, "At least he wouldn't be lying in there, fighting for his life!"

Grovyle faced him, green eyes piercing, "There was no way to predict what would happen. I too thought he would probably lose, but that he would just come out of it a little worse for wear. None of us could have predicted what happened would happen. You can't blame…"

"_I have the Dimensional Scream ability!_ Why didn't I see this coming? Why didn't it _work!_" Slamming his balled hand on the wide metal railing with a bang, he dented the hollow structure before collapsing on it, then let his head hang down over it as he could control his tears or sobbing no longer. He should had seen what was going to happen; he could see everything else! _Why not this?_

He let it all out until there was no more. Twilight eventually settled over the city before he felt himself spent, and he slid onto his knees behind the railing. Grovyle was still beside him as Chris and Electabuzz appeared on the other side of the glass door.

"Any word?" Leo asked immediately as they walked out.

Somberly, Chris shook his head. "He's still in the ER," in a quiet voice, just audible over the traffic noise around them. "This is my fault. I should never have let him battle, despite what he wanted. As the trainer, it's my responsibility to match you guys up where you will at least have a chance and not risk getting seriously injured. I failed. I'm sorry."

Leo huffed. "I should have seen this coming with the Dimensional Scream. But I didn't. I should have talked him out of that obviously bad matchup. But I didn't." He grew angry - with himself. "As his _friend_, I should _not_ have done what he wanted – I should have stopped him!"

Electabuzz and Chris settled on the other side of him opposite Grovyle, backs against the railing. "In watching him through a few battles now, I can say he's tough," Electabuzz said. "If anyone will recover after what he took, he will. And probably will end up stronger, too."

Leo hoped with everything he had that was true.

The four of them remained on the balcony as twilight deepened and the outside lights around the Pokécenter started lighting up. Eventually one of the nurses appeared in the door and slid it open to step through. Looking up with both hope and dread, Leo's heart started pounding in expectation of either good or bad news.

"So here you all are. I just wanted to tell you we've finished with Blaze in the ER and moved him out."

"Is he going to be OK?" Chris asked.

"It's a little early to tell for sure, but he's out of immediate danger. If he continues to improve through the night, then I think he will be fine. But he took a lot of punishment, far more then what we usually see from a match, even in the worst cases. He'll be in intensive care at least for the rest of the night. If he's looking good by morning, he'll make a full recovery and we might be able to release him in a couple days."

"Thanks."

"By the way, the four of you are welcome to spend the night. We have a few trainer rooms available."

"I think we'll take advantage of that, thanks," Chris replied after giving Leo a glance.

Leo nodded. There was no way he was going any further away from his dearest friend.

Chris waited until the nurse left before speaking again. "Leo, I hate to lay this on you too, but it could be important. I'll be calling Mr. Hanson here soon too; I left him a message earlier saying where we were, but I didn't think it was safe to say anything more in a message."

And what else could be important as this point?

"After you ran off for here, that man we faced had a message for us. He said that Derganio wasn't going to allow the project to be delayed. They are going to finish it themselves."

Now that _did_ get his attention, as unlikely as such seemed a few seconds ago. "What?"

"He refused to say anything more and I had to go running after you anyway, but I'm guessing this isn't good. I think to tell us that must have been the reason he battled us."

"That human…who was he?" Grovyle asked, clearly alarmed. "How does he know about the project, or about what Derganio Corp is going to do?"

Leo had the very same questions. "We need to tell Leo."

* * *

Leo Hanson saw Sally to the subway station before heading home. It was a wonderful evening. The movie was good and served as a good distraction from the project. The company wasn't bad either. Two coworkers/friends spending a day together outside of work – although he realized the possible implications. It didn't seem to go too far, but he found himself getting to know her a little better and wishing to continue down that path. He found he was liking this side of her outside of work.

Arriving home, it seemed curious the lights weren't on; surely Chris and the others would have been back by now, especially with it being dark. They couldn't be still battling at the park? After turning on the lights, the first thing that caught his eye was the blinking message light on the phone terminal.

_"Leo, it's Chris. We're at the Pokécenter. Blaze was hurt pretty badly in a battle this afternoon. We may be staying the night. Um…give me a call here when you get back; there's something else I need to talk to you about, rather important."_

Leo stared at the screen after it went black. Blaze was hurt bad enough that they were staying the night at the Pokécenter? That alone made him concerned, but what was this important 'something else'? Hitting the few buttons for the Pokécenter, he was already nervous before the image of a nurse appeared on the screen. "I'm looking for Chris Urbason. He left me a message wanting me to call him back there."

The nurse put him on hold while his heart raced; Chris's tired image appeared a few moments later.

"Chris, what's going on? How's Blaze?"

"Leo, thanks for calling back. Blaze was hurt in a battle against a blastoise. He only got out of the ER a half-hour ago."

With alarm, he glanced at his watch, calculating from the time of Chris's message about how long he had been in there…coming up with over six hours! "My God, is he going to be OK?"

Shaking his head in response, "Don't know yet. They're saying if he improves through the night, he'll be OK. If not…" He seemed to face someone off the screen and his Pokémon counterpart's blue face appeared next to him.

Leo couldn't help noticing how blood-shot his counterpart's eyes looked and how listless he moved. Not that Chris looked a whole lot better.

"There's something else," his counterpart started. "The blastoise's trainer was one of the people who's been following us."

His heart skipped a beat. "The guy from yesterday?" Returning to give them trouble?

"Different human. This one was the one who was at the Pokécenter the first time we came here and showed some interest in me."

"He challenged us to a battle, right out of the blue," Chris added. "After he pummeled Blaze, he gave me a message, which I think he intended for me to pass on to you."

"_For me?_" Peculiar. "What was it?" asking with trepidation.

"He said that Derganio Corp wasn't going to allow the project to be delayed or cancelled; that they are going to move to finish it themselves."

Leo stared blinking at the screen for a solid moment. "What?"

The blonde-haired trainer repeated the message before shaking his head slightly. "What do you think is going on?"

Not seeing any obvious answer off the top of his head, "I don't know; I'll need to look into it. Until then, would you like me to come there?"

Chris looked to his counterpart.

"No need," the swampert said simply.

After the quick goodbye and expression of hope for Blaze's recovery, he started thinking a little more clearly. It was too late to really call anybody. But if Derganio was somehow going to get full access to the project, someone from the University would have to let them in; only a few people had access to the lab and the passwords to the systems.

Which meant…there was someone on the project who was…? No…that was hard to believe; everyone knew the risks of letting anyone get their hands on the technology. That and he felt he knew everyone fairly well, even the Professor. Heck, he'd even met his wife on more than one occasion!

On the other hand, breaking into the lab wouldn't be especially hard either. It wasn't like they had the security of a top-secret government lab. And there surely was someone else on the University staff who had access to the systems. At least one other: the IT department wouldn't tolerate not having such access in the event of any emergency.

He needed to call the Professor first thing in the morning.

* * *

Leo was finding sleep elusive. As quietly as he could, he left the room where Chris and Grovyle were asleep to pace through the halls where other rooms held other sleeping trainers and their Pokémon. Unfortunately, the doors to the hospital portion were kept locked, otherwise he'd be with Blaze already. The reasoning part of him knew there were good reasons why visitors weren't allowed in the rooms where the sickest Pokémon were, but the friend side of him raged at not being able to be with him.

At least they let him be with his partner for a few moments before they closed the hospital. Seeing the wires and tubes stuck into his friend felt like someone walking over his grave. He really hoped those same wires and tubes would keep Blaze out of his.

Eventually his wandering brought him back at the balcony, where he looked out over a much calmer city being late into the night. With so few people out and virtually no vehicles around the Pokécenter, chirping crickets could be heard clearly in the grass, shrubs and small trees that comprised the immediate area around the large building.

Blaze was still foremost on his mind, though he was able to devote at least some thought to other concerns, which would have been impossible only a couple hours before.

_Derganio._ That was the corporation (whatever that was) that was helping to build…no, helping to _pay for_ the dimensional gate project. That's what his human self said. Now, they were going to finish the gate themselves? Meaning without the project's members, including his human self? That would mean…the project wasn't going to be cancelled or suspended after all. If the gate was going to be the cause of the coming disaster, then they were still heading toward it unabated!

So in the end, talking to the members of the project team and convincing them to halt it ended up accomplishing nothing…

A new thought occurred to him, one he really didn't like: if that man who they "battled" was actually a member of Derganio, could his objective have been to "eliminate" either him or Blaze, or both, in order to prevent them from interfering and getting the project stopped?

He just about accomplished that regarding Blaze, Leo thought angrily. Maybe actually did, depending on if his friend recovered or not. But if that were the case, why bother giving them the message that Derganio was taking over the project? If the goal was to keep them from interfering, then it would have been best to keep that news a secret for as long as possible.

The two things seemed contradictory. The man acted as both foe…and friend!

It didn't make sense, and he really hoped his human counterpart could figure it out.

* * *

Leo Hanson tried the Professor's number again, not getting any response. Not even on his cell number. Finally trying his home, his wife answered only to say he was "out of town", and didn't know when he'd be back.

"Great," he mumbled to himself, resolving to finally fix himself some breakfast with it now being late morning. Certainly, he could get used to sleeping late, especially after lying awake for half the night wondering about what that message Chris passed along meant exactly. But like the previous night, it was still strange being alone in the house as Grovyle was almost always around. No doubt he and his Pokémon counterpart were watching over Blaze. Which reminded him he should go there for a visit since he couldn't contact the Professor.

Though…he should probably tell at least Sally, and resolved to do that right after he got back.

After finishing his oatmeal and cleaning up, the phone terminal trilled just as he was preparing to leave. Sally's face appeared on the monitor. Immediately noting her worried expression, "Sally? I was going to call you later, actually."

"Oh, well I needed to talk to you right away, since I can't get a hold of the Professor."

"Yeah, he's out of town apparently. What's going on?"

"I just stopped by the lab this morning. I was going to pick up a couple things and…I couldn't get in. There security men there in Derganio uniforms, and there's a bunch of other people there, and they've apparently taken over the lab!"

Leo found himself sitting down in surprise. "Sally, listen, something happened yesterday." It took him only a moment to relay Chris's experience in the park.

"My God," Sally exclaimed. "What the hell do they think they're doing? They have no right to go in there and confiscate the project! They don't own it! And who the hell let them in?"

"My guess would be someone in University administration," having already gone over that question during the night. "Someone there would have all the access codes. Maybe Derganio twisted some arms or something, I don't know."

"Well…we have to stop them, somehow. They couldn't possibly know those systems…in fact, what could any of them know about how our systems operate anyway?"

All those "visits" by Derganio representatives seemed to take on a darker purpose all of the sudden, and something else also seemed to fall into place right at that moment: "Sally, remember that one vision I told you about, the one where I thought I saw another gate project? What if it was Derganio that built it, and they never gave it up? What if they continued development of their own DV detector, and now they're just moving in to finish what they consider their second gate attempt?" What he didn't bring up was his _other_ vision, the one where he saw all the strange people in their lab, which now seemed to be coming true…

"Damn," Sally's image breathed. "Look, maybe we should meet and figure out what to do. I don't know about you, but I'm starting to get paranoid; who knows what else those people are up to. I'll call the others; is it alright if we meet at your house?"

At first he thought that sounded like a good idea, but quickly had another thought. "Maybe we should keep this just between the two of us. It might be dangerous if we all get together." Although the man Chris battled might or might not have been from Derganio, the fact that he hurt Blaze pretty badly and then gave them the information, seemed to feel like an unspoken message of some kind…

"Alright, I'll come over right now."

"And I think I need to make a call to the University." So much for the visit to the Pokécenter.


	13. Chapter 13: Plans

**Chapter 13: Plans**

Leo was close to tearing the doors down before a nurse finally opened them and led him, Chris and Grovyle to Blaze. It was a different room than the night before, not smelling quite as sterile, and in the bed, Blaze was sitting up…

"Blaze!"

The red-faced infernape turned his head, bandaged as it was, to smile weakly.

At first he was afraid to touch his friend out of fear of hurting him, but finally put his blue hand on his shoulder as lightly as he could. "You…look fine," he said, returning his smile and hoping to encourage his healing.

"I feel like I've been run over by a heard of kangaskhans," Blaze replied almost in a whisper.

"That wouldn't have hurt as much," Grovyle said in an obvious attempt at humor.

The nurse who led them in started conversing with Chris: "He continued improving through the night, so I think he's well on his way to recovery. But with his internal injuries, he'll still need to stay here at least till tomorrow. I really do marvel at how tough Pokémon are. I think in three days, he'll be fully recovered."

Chris nodded acknowledgement, thanking the nurse.

"By the way, as long as your swampert's here, we should probably check on his arm."

Leo turned, the fact she was the one who had treated him last week finally dawning on him.

"You should get it looked at," Blaze prodded.

"I'm not leaving you."

Blaze huffed almost silently. "Ha, I'm not going anywhere by the looks of it." In a more somber tone: "Leo, I'm sorry."

"Sorry? For what?" He didn't understand; if anyone should feel sorry, it should be him for not watching out for his friend better!

"I asked you to believe in me…and I failed."

"Hey, that blastoise was stronger than any we faced together. And you were trying to take him by yourself. You were overmatched and there was no way for you to beat him. If anyone should apologize it should be me for not stopping you. I knew better or should have."

Blaze closed his eyes for a moment, bowing his head. "No, I'm too stubborn to have let you."

Of course he knew his partner had a stubborn streak, but that didn't excuse him for not trying harder to stop him than he did.

"But the next time I see a blastoise I promise I'll let you talk me out of fighting him or her."

"You did get one good hit on him," Grovyle pointed out. "I'll bet he's still feeling it this morning."

"That _was_ a good hit," Blaze said with a slight grin, sounding more like his old self.

Leo noticed Chris and the nurse now both standing directly behind him.

"OK Leo, time to get your arm x-rayed," the trainer said.

Feeling a hand on one of his sensitive head fins, the owner started tugging, forcing him to instinctively reach up and stop it.

"Don't _we_ look like a healthy team here," Blaze continued. "Only thing remaining is for Grovyle to have a neck brace."

Grovyle jerked slightly, his pale green eyes suddenly a little more open. "I think I'm going to avoid fire-types for now on. In fact, I make that a promise."

Leo fought off his grin until after following the nurse out of the room. Of course, it really wasn't funny; getting hurt…_hurt_.

Well, maybe it was a little funny.

* * *

Leo Hanson pounded the button in frustration, terminating the video-phone connection just as the doorbell chimed. "I can't tell if I was followed or not, but I might have been," Sally said immediately on letting her in. "Or like I said, maybe I'm just getting paranoid."

It really wouldn't have surprised him if she had been followed as part of keeping tabs on the project members. "If it's Derganio that's following us around, why would one of them tell us what they were doing though? That's the puzzle I can't figure out."

"Maybe two different groups, and one isn't Derganio?"

Shaking his head, he hoped it was something simpler. "Maybe."

"Did you find anything out from the university?"

"Oh yeah: nothing good. Apparently in their contract to partly fund our project, they retained the right to complete access, including rights to the premises if they deemed it appropriate. And guess what they invoked. Now they're working day and night, I was told."

Sally's mouth fell open.

"Exactly. Sure feels like we've been working for them all along. Why didn't John tell us?"

"He might not have known," Sally defended. "Securing funding is something University administration handles. They could of withheld certain details about the agreement, otherwise he might not have headed the project. You know how independent the Professor likes to be. These last few weeks in having to deal with Derganio have been taking their toll on him."

He knew the feeling. If he had been told how much power Derganio Corp held over the project, he also might have had second thoughts about joining it. One of the things that attracted him to the project in the first place was that it was basically pure research headed by the university, a supposedly neutral organization, unlike a corporation that had it's own (profit) interests at heart.

Offering his coworker a cold soda from the fridge which she readily accepted, he grabbed one for himself before they moved into the living room and sat. "So the question is, what do we do? I'm getting the feeling it isn't us who'll cause the disaster, but those Derganio people since they aren't as familiar with the systems as we are. If it was them who conducted that previous dimensional gate project, then they've already screwed up once I think."

"Leo…what if by delaying or possibly cancelling the project to prevent the disaster, we are in fact causing it? If it's Derganio that causes it, and they took over because we suspended it…"

Now there was irony. "Maybe the timeline can't be altered so easily…just like the Professor alluded to. Perhaps we have to go through whatever it is, then travel back in time to prevent it?"

"Depends on what the disaster is and if we survive it."

"Celebi can take us back in time…" That much was certain, thanks to her little 'demonstration'. "It's another thing to consider."

Sally took a swig of the soda and shook her head. "And here's another: the pressure Derganio's been exerting to finish the project, and in light of everything else I'm now sure they were exerting some, why?"

Leo looked at her questioningly, not quite following.

"For what reason did we have to finish it and start testing so quickly? If you think back, the pressure to work those long hours didn't really come until the previous week. That was the same day Leo…the _other_ Leo, showed up on this planet. They have a DV detector, or so we think, so they would have known he arrived, if not quite knowing exactly who he was yet. Odd as it sounds, there's probably a connection."

Thinking back, he realized she had a point. "But if my counterpart's arrival had anything to do with it, that would mean they had to know he came here to investigate the disaster, that the gate had something to do with it, and that he would try and stop it's completion."

"Hence, the pressure to finish it quickly," Sally finished. "But if they knew all that, then they _would_ know about the disaster. So, wouldn't they want to prevent such a thing too and not use the gate?"

Leo met Sally's eyes head on, staying locked for a few heartbeats. "That's assuming a lot of knowledge on their part," he finally said.

"But the scenario fits," she pointed out, brushing back her long red hair and taking another swig.

"So could a lot of others."

"Like?" Cocking her head slightly, she waited.

She had the best pose he thought, with her hair draped over her shoulders just so… Fighting the distraction, he tried thinking of any other explanation for the pressure to finish. In the end, he could only think of a generic "Could be some other external reason we aren't aware of."

"In other words, coincidental?"

"Unless they only knew he was coming here to stop the project and not why."

"That doesn't make logical sense. Knowing he came to stop the project pretty much would leave no reason why they wouldn't know why or at least suspect as to why."

Leo really did marvel at her deductive reasoning. She certainly surpassed anyone else he knew in that respect. "Alright, if our conjectures are true, that then leaves the question of why."

"Exactly. Why do they want this disaster to happen? Or…is there some other reason for gaining control of the gate…"

"Dialga and Palkia…"

Sally froze for a second. "What?"

"In our last vision, we saw Dialga and Palkia fighting some human in front of it."

"I forgot about that," she said almost sheepishly. "Were they trying to stop the project, prevent the disaster, or what?"

For once he wished he had been able to see more in a vision. Shaking his head, "I didn't see enough. My counterpart and I only saw a few seconds. They were just starting to face off against this human as he stood in front of the gate. I suppose he could have just been in the way…"

"Was the gate active?"

Not quite understanding what she was getting at, he still tried hard to remember that detail. The glimpse of the ring in the background, only fleeting…but…was there a dull gray glow in the middle…? "I think…it might have been."

"Two powerful, mythical Pokémon fighting a human in front of an active dimensional portal," Sally said slowly, as if trying to piece something together. "The human trying to stop them…or…is he trying to enter it?" Finally she grimaced..

"There's a major piece to this puzzle missing yet."

She sighed, finishing off the soda. "Probably more than one."

Leo sipped at his, swirling the blue fizzy liquid inside and barely paying attention to it's diffraction through the glass. "All this brings us back to our original question: what do we do?"

Setting her empty bottle down with some emphasis, her eyes focused squarely on him. "We need to stop them from playing around with our gate, Leo."

"You said they had security around the building?"

"Definitely in and around the lab. They didn't let me pass, though they were gentle about it…this time."

"Don't want to blow off the people they might need later," Leo mused.

Sally leaned back into the soft chair, wrapping her hands around her forehead and moving them back over her hair. "I'm at a loss as to how to stop a large international corporation from exercising their apparently legal right to use what they've been partly funding. Other than appealing to their CEO."

"Fat chance," Leo pointed out. "If they know about the disaster, then we can assume they won't care if we try to convince them to abort based on what we've concluded."

"Or we could try and hope our theory about them is wrong."

He could tell from her half smile she didn't pin much hope on that, but wasn't completely crossing it off either. "I think we're going to have to take some time to think carefully," he replied. "I hope we have the time."

"You're right. We'll have to plan what we do carefully, considering everything at stake. No knee-jerk reactions here." Putting her head back and staring at the ceiling, "You know, there's still a large part of me that's wants to call all of this crazy…"

"Me too. Until that other self of mine showed up, we were dealing with just normal, everyday things. You know, like building a gate that will create a portal through space; nothing out of the ordinary." He smirked when Sally focused from the ceiling back to him. Still, he knew exactly what she meant.

"Point taken," replying after a slight chuckle, then looked around the room a little. "Is everyone else at the park practicing again today?"

"Oh." That was right, he hadn't told her everything that happened yesterday yet. He quickly filled her in about Blaze. "I was going to go and visit them before you called this morning."

Sally's green eyes told the story before she even spoke: "We should go. That poor cute infernape!"

* * *

The human on the television was hiding behind a low wall, waiting for someone else to leave a car before jumping up and releasing a Machoke from a Pokéball. His quarry jumped in surprise before releasing his own infernape.

Leo noticed that got Blaze's attention when he sat up a little in his bed.

A battle instantly ensued between the two Pokémon, and when neither was able to knock out the other after several blows from each, the two humans engaged in their own fight right along side the Pokémon. In the end with the two Pokémon collapsing from exhaustion, the two humans ended up stopping as the police arrived, catching the 'bad' human and saving the important business documents in the process. "This was all a setup!" the bad human yelled as he was being shoved into the police vehicle.

"It was a perfect trap," one of the police humans crowed.

"That infernape," Chris said after the show ended, "he didn't battle half as good as you, Blaze."

"She," Leo corrected in unison with Blaze and Grovyle. Of course, he was the only one who said it in human language.

Developing a perplexed expression, "How can you tell from just looking?" the trainer asked. "I mean, there's so many species of Pokémon where males and females look identical; we humans have to reply on scans to otherwise find out."

Leo looked at his partner and Grovyle the same time they looked at him.

"You're the one who can speak human," Grovyle said.

"Don't leave out any details," Blaze said with a wry grin.

For once, he wished he _couldn't_ speak human. At least his blue skin hid any blushing other Pokémon were capable of exhibiting. "I'll tell you later," he finally answered, mentally adding: _much later._ He felt relieved when Chris had enough sense to drop the subject, instead getting up and stretching.

"Well, I should probably give Mr. Hanson a call and update him. I think I'll go back to his place for the night, too. You'll be staying with Blaze?"

Leo nodded.

"How about you Grovyle?"

The green gecko-like Pokémon started stroking one of the leaf blades on his wrist. "I should go back too," he said, then facing Blaze: "now that we know you're going to be alright."

Leo translated.

"OK. I'll still hang around a couple hours yet, so I'll be right back," and the blonde-haired human left the room.

With a little searching, Blaze found the remote for the television half buried in the sheet covering him. "Great invention," giving the remote yet another curious glance while turning it over in his hand, before using one of the large buttons to start changing channels. Eventually he settled on one depicting humans and Pokémon on some kind of 'star' ship in space.

On a different planet, the small group of humans and Pokémon were facing off against some weird creatures that certainly weren't like either of them. There was a shout, and someone fired a blue beam, making a small explosion…

"Hey," Chris said, suddenly appearing back in the doorway. "Look who I found on the way downstairs," jabbing a thumb behind him.

As Chris came into the room, Leo Hanson followed…along with Sally. Leo almost rose off the double chairs he was sitting on.

"Well, look what the meowth drug in," his counterpart said with a broad smile and he and Sally approached the bed. "But the nurses told me that you're going to be fine, just need another day here. I'm glad you're alright."

"So am I," Sally added, giving him a pat to his head.

"Thanks," Blaze replied. "But I'd be better if they would let me eat."

"They said you can eat tomorrow," Leo reminded. "Your guts are still healing." As Blaze sighed, he swore he heard his friend's stomach rumble, only serving to remind him that breakfast was a while ago. Of course it had to be far worse for his partner.

"So how are you then?" his human self asked Leo.

"I'm alright," Leo replied. "I'll be staying here until Blaze can leave."

"And his cast can come off in about three days the nurse said," Chris added. "Figures he'd forget that news. He's been so worried about Blaze."

"Chris told us what happened," Sally said. "You poor thing."

Blaze suddenly looked quite content as she started stroking her fingers through his mane, smoothing it out.

"She likes you," Leo said in Poke speech, fighting off a split moment of jealously that took him by surprise.

"I'm not complaining," Blaze returned, his eyes becoming dreamy.

He watched closely as she finished smoothing out a few long, fine red hairs on his friend, before she and his human self exchanged glances. His human self promptly went to shut the door.

"Well, we were going to tell you later," Sally started, "but since Blaze is up and doing alright," she paused to scratch lightly behind one of his ears, to which he closed his eyes in apparent enjoyment, "we probably should tell you all now."

"Oh oh, this sounds important," Chris commented.

Leo noted his human self grimacing. "Yeah, we have some problems."

"A few things happened this morning," Sally explained. "Basically…Derganio has taken over the project, and they're attempting to finish the gate. It's just like that man you battled yesterday said."

Now Leo did rise off the chairs. "You all said you were going to shut down the lab for a while!" How could someone else just walk in and take it over? One of the things he thought his other self told him was very few people could get to it!

"We don't control the Derganio Corporation," his human self defended. "We only found out this morning they apparently had an agreement with the University, basically giving them rights to come it and take it over if they saw fit. Sometime yesterday, they decided they didn't like the project being stopped, so they brought their own people in. Sally went there this morning, but they wouldn't let her in."

"I couldn't even get into the project area, let alone the lab," Sally added. "They had guards outside. And look, Leo and I," gesturing to his human self, "we've been talking this morning and we think we've connected a few dots."

"Dots?" Leo asked, confused. Dots of what?

"Figured some things outs." Sally launched into the connection between his and Blaze's arrival, the pressure to complete the project, and perhaps Derganio's desire to actually cause the disaster.

"You think they want to _cause_ it?" Blaze asked, clearly agitated with his tail twitching under the sheet. Leo repeated his question.

Throwing up his hands, "Or they just don't care, or think they can control it, or…I don't know," his human self said. "But it seems likely they know _something_ about it. That is, assuming our assumptions are correct."

"That makes no sense," Grovyle said. "Why would someone want to _deliberately_ cause a disaster?"

"Maybe they know what the disaster will be?" Leo asked, throwing the idea out.

"And that it will serve a purpose of theirs," Sally said, finishing the thought.

Sitting on one of the chairs in the corner, Chris leaned forward. "I thought you guys said just about any disaster involving that thing would be bad news for everyone. How could anyone benefit?"

"I don't know," Sally admitted.

Blaze turned, somewhat painfully, to lay somewhat on his side and releasing his tail from under him. "How do we stop them?"

After Leo translated, "Well, on the way here, I think I came up with one idea," Sally answered.

His human self facing her, "Is it what you were trying to tell me on the subway?"

Sally nodded. "If we need to stop them before our two weeks are up, I don't think we're going to be able to go through official channels or risk laying out our story and hope we're believed."

"Then, what?" Chris asked.

After a deep breath: "We're going to have to get in and sabotage it."

* * *

Leo Hanson feared that was what she was going to say, only she put it more mildly than he would have. They weren't sure they were followed to the Pokécenter or not, and talking in a public place about sabotaging anything wouldn't have been the best idea anyway, so they had said little on the way. Unfortunately, he'd been thinking along the same lines. If the disaster his other self claimed would happen was anything approaching the disaster he described as happing in the other timeline after the collapse of the Temporal Tower, they had to do whatever they could to keep the gate off-line. They simply couldn't reveal what they knew to the University, risking being disbelieved and having precautions put into place to keep them away from the lab any more than they were already.

"How dangerous would that be?" his counterpart asked in a lower, swampert-accented voice.

"The actual sabotage or to us trying to do it?" Sally replied. "It will be pretty easy to disable the gate and set anyone trying to activate it back by several months or more. Just a matter of how much we want to…damage it. Getting _in_ to do it…I have no idea.".

"However we do it, we're going to have to do it ourselves," Leo furthered. "If we're being watched, then if we get George, Naomi or Ticonamo or even Professor Werner involved, it could increase suspicion that we're up to something and make it harder to get in."

"You'd been thinking the same thing all along, haven't you?"

"Great minds think alike?" He smiled briefly to her, but quickly got serious again. "Pausing the project is one thing, but I don't like the idea of actually destroying what we've thrown so many years into." Indeed, like a knife to the heart… Like probably most the team, he considered the gate to be partly 'his baby', and he still had high hopes for continuing it.

"I know," Sally agreed, looking quite somber as she sighed. "It'll be hard."

"If it will save this planet and maybe even the Poké one, then it's a small price to pay."

The Pokémon said it too callously for his taste. "Hey, that's pretty damned easy for you to say; you used it to save the worlds – you didn't have to destroy it! In _this_ timeline, it still means a lot to us!"

Narrowing his light green eyes, the swampert leaned forward over Blaze's bed, glaring: "Don't talk to me about sacrifices! I know all too well what it means to sacrifice something to protect our two worlds. That gate is only a tool…"

Leo was seeing red from the complete lack of understanding from his counterpart. "_Look damnit_, we have put our very _souls_ into creating…" A hand grabbed his arm.

"Leo," Sally said, moving between him and his sight of his other self, "he's right. It's only a machine. If worst comes to worst, we can rebuilt it. We have all the data on each of our computers. And we do need to do whatever it takes to avoid this disaster that Dialga apparently thinks is coming."

He sighed with more than just annoyance.

Grovyle said something, to which his swampert counterpart replied back with one syllable before switching to human speak. Calmly: "Sorry. I've…forgotten how much went into building it. In the other timeline, we made it for only one purpose. The world was ending, and we had no hopes beyond using it the one time."

Feeling a sudden need for air, Leo swung around and left the room. On the way up, he'd noted what looked like an outside balcony and found it again, being greeted by a blast of warm early afternoon air as he walked out.

It was hard to relate to his counterpart at times, beyond the fact that his physical form had been completely changed. He could see the swampert had been though much rougher times than himself. It was probably that same aspect that seemed to have changed him so much. No denying there were many similarities between them, but from his prospective his other self was rougher, more hard-edged, more single-minded, more determined, more…sad. Loosing his grip a little, he moved his hand over the smooth metal railing, save for a large dent in part of it.

Maybe he was being unfair. Maybe being changed into a Pokémon altered his basic personality a great deal. In fact, he should be surprised if it hadn't. And here he was, being thrust into a human world of which he had few memories, and the few he had were of a world with no future.

By contrast, things apparently were pretty good in this version of the world. He never knew of any world-ending disaster (yet), and he simply continued helping to create something that would realize the dreams of a few, and revolutionize the world for billions. Dimensional gate travel…from Tokyo to Washington in a matter of seconds! Or to the moon…or even other worlds…

And he had to help destroy it, lest the world itself could be destroyed…or something lesser.

The uncertainly of that was starting to eat at him. If only they knew what the disaster was supposed to be, they might be better able to prevent it and not have to undertake the drastic actions they were being pushed to take!

Hearing the door slide open behind him, he glanced to find both Sally and Grovyle walking out to stand beside him.

"He really is sorry," his red-haired, still young-looking and pretty coworker said, looking a little sorry herself.

"Grooovyle," Grovyle added, apparently in confirmation.

"I know. It's not that, though. It's just…" He finally shrugged, lacking the word he was looking for. "I don't know. Making plans to do what we're going to try and do without complete information is… What if everything we've been told is wrong? Our project holds so much promise, and means so much to each of us, and here we're going to destroy it on the basis of guesses and assumptions. I don't know if I can do that."

Kneeling beside him, Sally rested her chin on the railing. "You know, I do wish I could talk to this Dialga directly, instead of getting information third-hand."

Her words surprised him some. "You don't trust that swampert?"

Sally herself suddenly looked surprised in looking up. "No, I trust him; he's you! But if Dialga were here, I think we could get more information. It's like trying to get details to something while waiting for old paper mail. It's slow and frustrating when you need quick answers, and it's difficult to anticipate everything you need to ask every time you sent the letter off."

"Frustrating and feeling blind: I think that about sums it up. Please tell me it'll be a worse mistake to not do anything." Facing her, he hoped she was more certain than himself.

She looked out over the city, her face unreadable. "I think it would be. If the gate has something to do with the disaster, then disabling it _is_ the logical step, no matter how it is done. We have a responsibility to not allow it to cause harm if that's what it will do."

Of course, he knew she was right; he just didn't _want_ it to be the correct course of action. Reluctantly: "Then, we have some planning to do," but feeling at least a little more sure.

* * *

Leo watched Grovyle and Sally leave the room, saying they'll talk to his other self.

He felt bad. At the same time, what needed to be done had to be obvious and he was having a hard time understanding his other self's reluctance. That wasn't to say he didn't comprehend it, but he couldn't recall having any particular feelings about the project in his own now erased timeline. The gate had simply been a tool, a way to save the world.

It was different for himself in this new future, apparently.

Leaning back against his stacked pillows, Blaze laid back on his back, folding his arms on his stomach and slowly twitching before facing him with…

He knew _that_ look. "What?"

"I think he needs time."

"What if we don't have it?"

His infernape friend shrugged. "He'll come around soon; I'm sure of it. You would. And I don't think he's angry at you, but at what he has to do."

Leo hoped he was right.

"It's been two days; Celebi should be returning tonight," Chris suddenly reminded out of the blue. "Are you still planning on staying here? If not, one of my Pokémon can relay what she says."

Realization hit him that he had completely forgotten about that! She was due that evening, if she kept to her every other day schedule.

"You need to go," Blaze prodded. "I'll be fine."

"I can't leave you alone!" Leo protested.

"Are you afraid I'm going to get into trouble?" his partner replied with a wicked grin that didn't help the situation any.

"Trouble may find you," he returned, meaning it in jest, but at this point unwilling to trust someone wouldn't try and hurt his friend further, considering everything.

"Our mission may depend on at least one of us being there to talk with Celebi," Blaze reminded.

And he knew his partner had a point, as much as he didn't like it.

"So is that a yes or a no?" Chris asked, obviously unable to understand any part of the conversation.

* * *

Sitting on his rooftop patio and leaning over the laptop, Leo Hanson looked for ways to render the gate unusable in some significant way as twilight was deepening overhead. Actually there was no shortage of ways; the problem was doing it without setting the whole project back by more than a couple months. Assuming they'd be able to continue it.

After a deep breath and long sigh, he sat up, realizing he'd been hovering over the displayed schematics for far too long without a break. Taking a sip of his long-cold tea, he gazed over where his Pokémon counterpart was laying on one of the benches, Chris keeping him company. Like a good trainer, he was staying near his Pokémon, as unusual and different (and not really "his") as this Pokémon was.

"_Gro_vyle?" Grovyle asked, pointing to his cup after he set it down.

Shaking his head, "I'm fine, thanks. Should make some for yourself, though. The night feels like it's going to be a little cool." To emphasize the point, he pulled his light jacket off the back of his chair to wrap himself with it. "Definitely a cold front came through this evening."

"Grovyle, rrrrssss."

He gave his green skinned friend a reassuring pat on the back as he rounded the table in heading for the stairs. Only he didn't go for the stairs. Instead, he stopped behind him and… There were suddenly two two-fingered hands on his shoulders, moving in slow, rhythmic circles along his tight neck and shoulder muscles. He felt himself instantly melting under the relaxing massage. "Oooo. Grovyle, you are an angel dressed in green skin and leaves."

"_Gro_vyle."

It was hard to resist, and he was feeling himself drift off under his friend's soothing attention when he heard the greeting from the other side of the roof. He and Grovyle were quickly over by the others to give their own to Celebi.

"Dialga and Palkia have moved closer to here," his counterpart said hurriedly after a long string of unintelligible speech from the light green floating Pokémon. "Palkia has felt a dimensional portal being opened."

Leo froze in alarm. "They're activating it _already?_" How could they figure out the system so quickly? Even if they had constructed their own primitive gate many years before, surely their own systems had been different. Unless…could they have had access to the project data all along? "Does Dialga have any better idea of when this disaster is supposed to happen, or even what it is?" asking Celebi directly. She replied to him again in Poke speech, making him wait impatiently for his counterpart's translation, furthered when he and Celebi went back and forth a couple times.

The swampert finally spoke in human speech: "Dialga and Palkia say there are a few outcomes in play, but it's probably..." He stopped, asking Celebi something in Poke speech again and getting a quick reply. "…dimensional in nature. They don't know when, but it will be soon; sooner then it was two days ago; less than two weeks."

"That pretty much confirms it, doesn't it," Leo asked rhetorically. "If it's dimensional in nature, then it's the gate that has to cause it." Damn! Could there be any doubt any more, assuming he believed what they told him? Feeling his green friend's hand on his shoulder in support, "Any idea how bad the disaster will be if we don't stop it?"

His blue and white skinned and finned counterpart started translating even as Celebi was speaking: "They still don't know, but Dialga is sensing…" After stopping to again go back an forth with the small, pixie-like Pokémon, "…just sensing destruction; a ruined land. He still can't see very clearly. But sensing dimensions is more Palkia's skill then Dialga's, but Palkia can't sense the future," the swampert explained, or tried to.

Leo decided to get right to the point of why he had been waiting for her to show up: "Celebi, I have to tell you, although a couple days ago we agreed to suspend the project, we no longer have control of it. The company that had been providing funding to us, Derganio Corporation, has taken over and they're attempting to finish it."

"REEBEE!"

"If Palkia is sensing a dimensional portal, then it's got to be the result of Derganio's people already starting to activate it."

"Rayabee neereeray beeanee…" Celebi spoke quickly and loudly back and forth to both of them, although only his Pokémon counterpart could understand the strange language that humans for years had tried to decipher.

"She says we need to get control back and stop them," his counterpart soon replied with a hand up to Celebi, apparently in an attempt to calm her down.

Just as he thought she would say. "Believe me we're going to try, Celebi, but it won't be easy! They have their own security in place that we might not be able to get past. If we can, we're going to try and disable…or destroy the gate."

"Rayba?"

"When?" his other self translated.

"Tomorrow night, if we can come up with a plan to get inside."

More unintelligible words from the small floating Pokémon, then: "She says she'll help," his counterpart announced.

* * *

"Give me a minute!" Chris said with some annoyance just before drinking the last of his glass of orange juice.

Leo had hurried through breakfast and was urging Chris to do the same. If he could have gone on the subway by himself, he would have and left the human behind. It'd been a restless night, being the first one he'd ever spent away from Blaze since they first met. It felt very…lonely, even though Chris had been in the same room, leaving him wondering if that was what Blaze felt in the months when his existence had been erased…

"OK already, let's go," the human finally announced, grabbing his jacket off the hook by the door and hurrying to catch up with him when he raced ahead outside. He just barely heard the "Hope Blaze is feeling better," from his human self before Chris shut the door behind them.

His human self was expecting Sally to arrive any time so they could continue to work on sabotage plans and figure out a way to get into the lab that used to be theirs. Celebi only needed a couple hours to fly to Dialga and Palkia's new location to deliver news overnight, and had already returned just as the sun was rising.

Hopefully they would get something worked out soon. Also hopefully, Blaze could return with him from the Pokécenter.

Like it had been two days prior, the subway was packed during the morning "rush hour" with humans of all smells, shapes, sizes and even colors. How one species could have so much variation escaped him, though of all Pokémon, he most of all should have been able to understand. Maybe as he regained more fragments of his memory, he would. For the moment, he was satisfied to simply be on his way back to his friend.

One human angrily let out a word he never heard before after accidently stepping on his foot on the way out of the car. He wanted to apologize, but Chris said it for him, saving him from speaking in public yet again. But he didn't let the incident slow him any; running as fast he as could on two legs nearly all the way from the subway station to the Pokécenter, Chris struggling to keep up, he was into the hospital portion of the large building with nearly the speed of a pikachu's thunder bolt. Only his broken arm kept him from running on all fours!

"Blaze!" he said immediately on entering his room.

The red and white-haired infernape was sitting up on the edge of his bed, a human in a white gown looking at something wrapped around his arm. "Leo!" Blaze returned, whipping his red tail around in obvious excitement and sounding quite happy.

Which was exactly how he felt to be with his friend again, though "overjoyed" probably better described it. "How are you feeling?"

"They gave me some food finally," Blaze said, jerking a thumb toward a tray that held a small, empty bowl. "But not a lot." He frowned, then grimaced as the doctor started squeezing a "bulb" on a black tube that was attached to whatever was around his arm, making a faint hissing noise with every squeeze. "He's giving me what he said was a final check-up."

"Just one moment," the doctor finally told Chris just before he stopped squeezing the bulb.

Blaze jerked once, earning a "Hold still" from him. Within a few seconds, the man twisted something, making whatever it was hiss more loudly before the wide band slackened and released. He started flexing his arm while the doctor scribbled something down on a clipboard, then faced Chris: "The healing abilities of Pokémon never ceases to amaze me. Your infernape is good to go. But I would still have him take it easy for another day or two. Hold back on the food for the rest of the day, maybe just another couple handfuls in light meals, then he can have whatever he wants tomorrow." Facing Blaze: "Understand?"

He sighed and nodded. "Is starving part of healing?"

"You aren't entered in the League tournaments starting tomorrow, would you?"

"I was thinking of officially making the entry today actually, if Blaze is healed enough and he still felt like doing it," Chris answered, with a questioning look to the infernape.

"Well, keep him out of any battles until at least Saturday, just to make sure. He'll probably still need rest tomorrow."

Leo noticed him giving a quizzical look to his left arm and it's cast before his expression quickly became a frown.

"Your Pokémon really give their all, don't they? You should consider going easier on them."

Blaze was grinning.

"They like hospitals," Chris replied, deadpan.

Leo adjusted his stance slightly to start stepping down on the blonde-haired human's foot at the same time his partner narrowed his eyes, moving his hand and arm in preparation for a chop hit.

Apparently getting the message he was about to need a hospital himself, Chris finally let out a chuckle. "Don't worry, I'll be taking good care of them," with a pat to each of their heads.

Blaze hopped several times once they finally made it outside after some "paperwork" Chris had to complete. "Ha ha!" after yet another quick leap over a crack in the sidewalk. "It's nice to be out of there finally!"

"You must really be feeling good," Chris commented. "I have to ask, are you still willing to battle for me in the tournament this weekend? I know there's a lot going on and this is assuming…" He moved his head in a quick around them, "…you won't be needed for _other_ things."

"He means shutting down the gate," Leo told his partner in Poke speech. "They're thinking of trying tonight of sneaking in to do it."

"So they are going to sabotage it then?" Blaze asked, suddenly falling in beside him.

Leo nodded.

"See, I told you your human self would come around," he grinned, the whites of his teeth showing from behind his red lips. "I know you, therefore I know him."

"Lucky guess," he teased, just missing his friend's tail after it got tauntingly close to his face. "He just needs to figure out how to do it and how to sneak in."

Chris cleared his throat.

"Of course I will," Blaze said, answering the human's waiting question.

Leo translated, there soon being an extra spring in the human's step as they continued to the subway station.

* * *

"How about there, there, and there?" Leo Hanson pointed out the equidistant locations on the displayed diagram while leaning over Sally's shoulder, unable to not notice her faint perfume. "We remove those control boards, and the entire network for the maser wavelength control system goes down."

"There's still the backups," she replied, indicating another three points, also equidistant. "And that brings us to total of sixteen boards to remove to completely disable it, all behind their own screwed-in plates. Not exactly quick work."

He reluctantly had to agree. Completely disabling the maser system would be crippling, but with some determination was also something that could be replaced in a couple weeks or less. The boards were really off-the-shelf microcontrollers, the only unique thing about being the programming, and that was available on one of the servers. Disabling the other systems would add to the length of time to get the gate functioning again, but also require more time to perform. "Maybe if we also take out the twelve power supplies…"

"Reeree?" Floating up on the other side of Sally, Celebi moved to just in front of the laptop to point to something, the wind from her rapidly fluttering back wings ruffling Sally's long red hair in the process.

Grovyle quickly scribbled something on a notepad, holding it after Celebi settled down on the desk to stand to the side of the laptop.

Leo knew what she asked even before he read his friend's barely legible handwriting as "What's this?"

"That's the input flow junction for Section Two's cooling system," Sally patiently explained to the small Pokémon's seemingly hundredth question. "Responsible for keeping the masers in Section Two cooled during operation. They'd quickly overheat otherwise."

"Reeba reera?"

Grovyle again quickly translated, although it was a series of syllables they'd heard enough times to have almost memorized.

"Yes, we could punch holes in the coolant pipes all over the place and it'd take several days to repair," Leo answered this time, "but it'd also take a while to cut or drill the pipes in enough places to make it enough of a pain to repair." Finally standing up straight again with a grimace from stiffness, "I think no matter how we look at this, we're going to have to do a massive number of things to render it inoperable for more than just a few weeks."

"We designed it well with a lot of redundancy, apparently," Sally commented while stretching her arm ups before focusing on Grovyle. "What if we use Grovyle? Those wrist leaves of his can cut through titanium, right?"

"Grovyle?" The green Pokémon visibly lurched in apparent surprise, quickly shaking his head.

"I don't think so," Leo replied, eventually figuring out she was only joking. "Maybe we're trying to be too gentle. If we simply smash most components in place, we can save a lot of time. Unscrew a plate, smash everything inside, including ducts and pipes. Grovyle can certainly help with that." He immediately noticed Sally's half smile.

"I was waiting for you to realize that. To do what we need to do in just a few minutes, there's no other way."

"No, I realized it a while ago, I was just hoping for a better option." If they didn't have to destroy everything they could reach, it would make it much easier for them to get the gate ready again. Destroying components and systems would make it costly in both time and money, neither of which they might get. "I guess we do what we have to do," sighing with resignation. The goal of creating dimensional travel never seemed so far away…

Flying up high enough over Sally's head, Celebi gently touched his forehead with her tiny hand. "Reebee."

He swore her look was one of sympathy as the front door lock clicked open, Chris, Leo and Blaze quickly walking in.

"Well hey, look who's back on his feet," Sally greeted, swinging around in the chair with a smile.

"Yeah," Chris replied. Then sounding full of pity, "Well, you know, I found this lost little infernape just sitting in the Pokécenter hospital, looking all lonely and pathetic and waiting for someone to rescue him from there."

"Blaze was dying to get out," the swampert added.

"Pokémon usually go to the Poké hospital _because_ they're dying," Sally returned.

"Oh come on, they still had to of had at least another half dozen needles to stick him with," Leo said, unable to resist joining in.

Blaze hissed, but didn't narrow his blue eyes any, despite the annoyed-looking whip of his tail.

Celebi and Grovyle both said something to the infernape as he, the swampert and Chris all joined them around the workstation in the corner of the living room.

"How is it going?" his blue-skinned counterpart asked, gesturing to the laptop screen.

"We're making progress," Sally replied. "We kind of just decided what we're going to do. Now we just need to figure out a way in."

"How about a distraction?" Chris suggested. "We have plenty of Pokémon to help create one. Electabuzz's thunderbolt is more than enough to render someone unconscious. Believe me, I know."

"Gro…vyle?" Grovyle started fingering the edge of one of his wrist leaves with a rare glint in his eyes.

The thought of a confrontation where one (or many) people could get hurt made Leo slightly uncomfortable. "I think we're hoping to not create much of a scene. The building is alarmed and the police could show up quickly. Granted, we may not be able to be avoid that."

"There is the dock entrance," Sally suggested.

"A back door?" Chris asked.

"Sort of. All the projects in the building use the same dock when they need large pieces of equipment delivered. It won't give direct access to the lab, but it could get us inside the building."

At first, Leo didn't see the benefit as surely that door would be guarded as well. Although… "If someone rented a truck and pretended to deliver something, that could be the distraction for me and Grovyle to get past any security."

"Problem is, we would have to deliver something during the afternoon to be believable. Deliveries don't happen at night, and we need the night when there's fewer people from the other projects around. Even then, the person you talked with at Administration said Derganio is working around the clock, right?"

So much for that idea.

"But…" Shaking her finger in thought, "…maybe if I drove the truck to the front and faked engine trouble, I could distract the guards fairly…effectively, then get us inside the front door to deactivate the building's alarm before we create a commotion."

He noticed a glint in her eyes now, of a very different kind. "Hold on, are you thinking of…"

The red head was grinning wickedly. "Why not? After all, I don't get much of a chance to really show off these days, especially in tight shorts and small cut-off top. Though I should bleach my hair so they won't recognize me."

"What are you talking about?" his Pokémon counterpart asked, apparently confused.

"I think I know," Chris said, looking like he was trying very hard to not smile.

All the Pokémon were looking among themselves, giving the equivalent of shrugging, until the swampert's eyes widened just a little. "Oh," he said simply.

Leo swore he saw just the barest hint of a grin on his counterpart's face.


	14. Chapter 14: Deceptions

**Chapter 14: Deceptions**

Leo grabbed the wooden crate in front of him as the well-worn box truck hit yet another hard bump and started swaying, jarring every bone in his body. In the dim light of the overhead bulb, he saw Blaze and Grovyle make equal use of some straps attached to the sides. Of course, bumps weren't problem for Celebi with her ability to hover, nor was it probably as much a problem for either his human self or Chris, both riding in the front with Sally driving, and all sitting on padded seats.

Sally… Just the thought of her gave him pause; she was no longer looking like herself! When she came out of the bathroom only a couple hours before, he swore she was a different human, though her scent was the same. Straw-blonde hair, a cap and glasses almost completely changed her appearance. And then there were the really short blue cut-offs barely covering her rounded hips that had been a new pair of jeans earlier that day, she said. Not to mention the rolled-up light yellow shirt that only just covered the middle of her chest.

The effect on his human self and Chris had been immediate. Having once been human, he found himself staring as well; she was…quite attractive in the way only a female could be. Even Blaze and Grovyle made a couple comments, leaving him wondering.

After some distance, all the harder to gauge without any windows, the truck finally stopped.

"This must be the first spot," Blaze commented.

Leo felt nervousness setting in as he watched the back of the truck open on a mostly dark outside, his human self motioning Grovyle out.

"Guess this is it," he said after the Pokémon jumped out.

"Alright, I'll let you know as soon as the alarm and rear locks are disabled," the now blonde-haired Sally reminded, pointing to a small radio she was holding in her hand.

Nodding, his human self shoved a matching radio into a pocket before closing the door again, Chris jumping up and in to take Grovyle's place just before.

According to the plan, the truck would stay where it was a couple blocks from the lab building for fifteen minutes, giving his human self and Grovyle time to make their way into position around the back of the building. There they would hide in the deep woods that mostly surrounded the research center, waiting for the alarm and locks to be disabled. Once that happened, they would make their way through the back of the building, Grovyle distracting/fighting any guards present.

In short, they would be "breaking" into the building from two different directions; if one group failed, the other might still get into the lab.

But until then, he had fifteen minutes to work himself up some more. "Hopefully Sally will be able to distract the guards," speaking idly in Poké speech to Blaze and Celebi.

Flexing one of his purple hands into a fist, "If she can't, then we'll just have to use force," his partner replied, the whites of his teeth showing.

Celebi floated in front of the red and white haired infernape, "Aren't you still healing? Aren't you _both_ still healing?"

"I'm healthy enough to take on any human," Blaze replied, his haired mane puffing slightly in the dim light. "Wonder if we'll run into those charizards and blastoise, though. Those humans could be part of this Derganio, maybe?"

"If run into them, I'll take care of the blastoise if you handle the charizards," Leo replied.

Grinning, "Deal."

Of course he was half joking. Really, between the two of them his water pulse attack would be the best option against the charizards, but if Blaze tried to take on the blastoise again, he could imagine the massive Pokémon not going as easy on him this time around.

"And who's going to get both of _you_ out of trouble?" Celebi asked, hands on her tiny hips and setting herself down on one of the tall wooden boxes to stand.

"That's why Chris is here," Leo answered in human speech.

"Huh? What?" the trainer asked.

"To get us out of trouble. I'm sure Electabuzz won't mind helping either." In fact, he would have to. With Blaze and himself still healing, the other Pokémon were going to be needed if they ran into either the blastoise or even one of the two charizards.

Pointing to one of the Pokéballs on his belt, "He probably heard that."

"And I'm sure he's smiling at the prospect," Blaze added.

"I still want to go with them," Leo admitted after a moment, more seriously. "I should be with him at least."

"We need to help Sally," Chris said. "Without disabling the locks, the other Leo can't get in through the back."

"Didn't he say his access didn't include the rear dock doors?" Celebi asked.

"Besides," Blaze added, "Grovyle should be able to handle any humans back there. He certainly beat us pretty good in the other future."

"We were a chimchar and a mudkip back then," Leo felt compelled to point out. Obviously, that made at least a little difference, though he still wouldn't want to take Grovyle on in a rematch!

"The most important job is here," Chris continued. "We need to lure any guards around into the back of this truck. Speaking of which…" Unclipping one of the Pokéballs from his belt, he released Pikachu.

"Hi," Leo greeted along with Blaze.

Pikachu returned the greeting. "We're already there?"

"Not quite," Blaze answered. "Grovyle and the other Leo just left. We'll be doing our part soon."

"Remember Pikachu, only a _low_ power thunderbolt," Chris reminded.

The yellow mouse-like Pokémon nodded his understanding before puffing his red-spotted checks in a mischievous smile.

* * *

Leo Hanson had a hard time shaking his sense of foreboding after stumbling alongside Grovyle in near blackness. Just outside the edge of the city, street lights were few and far between, especially with the University's research building being located practically in the middle of a forested preserve. From the point they left the truck, there were two ways to get to the building: by the road and it's sidewalk, and cross-country. Obviously the road could be watched, so he and Grovyle found themselves in forest as soon as they left the road. Only then did he realize the moon wasn't shining, making for one dark walk amid all the undergrowth and tree branches.

It wasn't so bad where the trees were thin and some of Pinnacle Valley's city glow could at least illuminate a small fraction of their way, but in the heavier cover they might as well of been in a sealed light-tight room. And to make matters worse there was a steep slope, the small forest being on the side of a hill.

"Grovyle?"

Leo hesitantly pulled the tiny flashlight out of his pocket, using it briefly to just see the way ahead for a few yards. He was fearful of keeping it on, for if any of the light made it through the tress to the building…

Feeling Grovyle's smooth two-fingered hand take his, he allowed his partner to lead him through the portion of forest the light had just illuminated. Grovyle had slightly better night vision than humans, but with so little light available, he wasn't sure if he could see any better or not.

The answer came quickly. Hearing Grovyle trip, the jerk on his hand came next, pulling him down in turn; he felt the wind knocked out of him in landing on top of his friend, just before they started rolling downhill, Grovyle going up and over him and vice versa before his back hit solidly against some tree.

"Ow, damn!", brushing off something sticky from his face and head. Reaching for the flashlight again…he found his pocket empty! "I lost the flashlight!"

His heart pounded as he joined Grovyle in feeling around for it, the whole idea of sneaking into the place through the woods looking less and less smart by the moment. He just didn't think hiking two blocks through the woods he passed everyday for years was going to be a problem!

And now that he was on his hands and knees… "What the heck…?" From Grovyle's sudden lack of motion, he knew he felt the slight pulsing in the ground too.

One of the theories around dimensional portals was if things weren't aligned just perfectly, spatial vibrations could result. Indeed, it was something he remembered from the one visions. Only now, he was feeling them for real!

"Forget the light, we got to go!" Getting back up in the near total blackness, he felt for his partner's hand and with him made as good of time as they could, the pulsing in the ground getting much stronger before it finally stopped after a good half-minute. He felt at least a little relief, but what kind of damage might they have done in creating a seriously out-of-alignment portal? Could they already be too late?

In addition to the feeling of running out of time, he at once got a sudden, powerful wave of Déjà vu. Which was of course, nuts; when the heck had he ever went blindly stumbling around in a forest at night before? Yet, he couldn't shake there something was familiar about all of this…

After several more near-stumbles, they broke out into a thinner area, providing slightly more light from the city's glow then the deep cover, at least enough to see silhouettes. A bit of wind rustled the tops of the trees around them, giving just the barest hints of a breeze near the ground, and…

Grovyle stopped, yanking on his hand and forcing him to do the same. "Grovyle, what…"

His friend gave a sharp shake through his arm, indicating to be silent. Standing completely still, there was only the usual night noises of crickets, the rustling leaves in the light wind… No, there was more rustling then the wind could account for. And…it…no, _they_ were getting close, _fast!_

Almost as soon as he realized that, the corner of his eye caught a shadow of movement behind them… A hard thud and moan, and Leo felt his friend fall, almost dragging him down with his tightened grip.

He tried reacting in the darkness, to turn around and face whoever or whatever it was, but sooner than he could think it, a sharp pain ripped through the back of his skull. From the ground, he stared up at the dark star-filled sky with unfocused vision, feeling his consciousness slipping. The shadow of a head appeared over him and after appearing to remove something, it brought up a dim light that illuminated it's face.

The man smiled down at him, not kindly…

Recognition hit him just as his vision grew black.

* * *

Leo felt his heart pound after the truck stopped for the second time, or rather jerked several times before coming to a rather noisy and grinding stop, bumping all of them in back along with it.

"Ow," Chris hissed out in a whisper after whacking his side into one of the wooden crates.

"Quiet!" Leo reminded him in a quieter whisper.

Chris waved at him before reaching for the light to extinguish it, plunging the inside into complete darkness.

If they didn't make any more noise, no one on the outside would know they were there. At least until they opened the rear door, at which point it'd then be too late…in theory.

The sound of the driver's door opening, Sally climbing out and slamming it shut was clear. Less clear were the voices that followed, though they were still mostly understandable.

"Lady…uh, _miss_. What are you doing here?"

"Oh, maybe one of…handsome, strong…can help me!"

It struck him immediately that Sally's voice was a little different too, now.

"I thought I was on the road into the city, but I started down this road, and my truck here is really acting up, like it just broke down! Can you help me? _Please?_"

"Well…"

"Uh…" a second man's voice stammered.

"Oh, please?" Sally begged. "It's been a really long drive from Cape Kippel, and I'm all tired and…"

"Well, come on Roberts, we can…lady some assistance."

With a lower voice: "I'd _really_ appreciate that," Sally replied.

"Um…" A long pause, then a low whistle followed by some chuckling. "Uh…sure, no problem, I guess. We have certainly have all night."

Leo knew he was grinning. Although he wished he could see what was going on out there, he had a decent idea. Remembering one fragment of memory, Sally was with him in some park and she was…what was the word…_flirting_?

Something popped, then the sound of another door being opened, though different.

"They popped the hood," Chris whispered so quietly, Leo wasn't sure he heard him right.

"Hey, this thing looks…"

"Oh, this…loose."

"…feels hot."

"I think there's some tools in the back," Sally's voice said. "Could you help me get them? There are some _really_ large, heavy boxes in the way, though. But two _strong_ men could probably move them out of the way."

"Get ready," Chris again barely whispered.

Footsteps on the hard asphalt made their way around the truck to the back before the latch was undone and the doors swung open, allowing dim light from outside to flood in.

Looking to the others, Leo made sure they were all crouching (or floating) behind the boxes.

"The light is right up there," Sally said. "And the tool box is behind those large crates back there."

"Whew," one of the men exclaimed. "Lady, you weren't kidding when you said they were big!"

"Yeah," confirmed the other. "Which one are the tools behind?"

"The one on the left," Sally shouted back.

The truck rocked slightly with the sound of two people climbing up and in. The illumination about doubled as the dim interior light was switched on, then the footsteps on the wood truck floor came toward the back.

Chris was holding his hand on Pikachu's back, seemingly ready.

Leo held his breath as grunts came from the two unseen men, the box in front of him quickly lurched forward.

"Hey lady, this ain't that heavy," one of the men remarked. In a few more seconds, the empty wooden box was slid completely out and to the side, revealing…

The men stood, staring back at him in apparent shock.

"Hello," Leo said in human speech, adding a wave.

The two men in dark blue uniforms, sporting some kind of emblems that said "Derganio", swung around. "Hey! Lady! What the…!"

Pikachu didn't wait for any command, already having been told what to do. Jumping into the opening, the yellow mouse-like Pokémon let loose with a bright white, blinding flash as electricity instantly jumped from him to the two men. The bolt itself lasted a mere fraction of a second; the men collapsed a few fractions after that.

"Let's go!" Sally said waving everyone out.

"Hey, this one's still awake," Blaze said, being the last to step over the two humans. As if to emphasize the point, the one let out a soft moan.

Pikachu raced back, letting loose with a much smaller spark. The human ceased moaning.

"Come on, come on, come on," Sally urged, waving them out.

After giving a wistful look back at the two human, Celebi flew out as Chris and Sally closed and locked the rear doors.

Sally paused a few seconds, shaking slightly as she let out a sigh. "Well, that should hold them for a while even after they wake up."

"Yeah, good work everyone," Chris said. "I almost feel sorry for them."

She nodded before quickly leading them to the front doors…

Huh? Touching his chest, Leo felt the twinge subside after the weird feeling.

"What is it?" Blaze asked, grabbing his shoulder as Sally touched something that had buttons in the wall near the front door to the massive sand-stoned building.

Looking down at himself, he couldn't see anything wrong, but… "I don't know. Something's wrong."

Blaze's red infernape face showing sudden worry, "But you look fine…"

He shook his head, trying to explain the feeling to his friend that he couldn't even explain to himself. "It feels like something…happened?"

After some audible clicks, Sally pushed the door open and started ushering them in. Whipping out the small radio, "This is team one. Cuckoo's nest is open for business."

Leo felt growing foreboding growing with each passing heartbeat without a response.

"This is team one. Cuckoo's nest is open for business."

Still just inside the front doors in the front of the lobby, everyone else's looks grew more worried as more seconds passed.

"A feeling?" Chris asked, facing him.

Leo then thought he knew, if not necessarily why. "He's in trouble."

* * *

On the balcony overlooking the gate, he glanced over to the displays, reading the information from the last activation, frowning slightly. Maybe it was too much to hope for…

One of the multitude of white-robed scientists with him sighed after changing one of the displays to a more graphic rendering. "Sir, if you ask me, this gate just isn't ready for full-scale use yet. We _did_ skip most of the testing the original team had scheduled and there are still plenty of bugs to shake out."

He nodded a response, running a hand back through his long, near-white hair, almost combing it. "That's alright," he replied smoothly and gently. "It doesn't have to be fully working for our purposes."

A different scientist turned around. "Huh?"

"We only need to generate dimensional portals for a short time. It doesn't even have to be stable."

"But instability is what just about destroyed it a few minutes ago!"

That he knew and was about to say so, but a vibration from his pocket demanded his attention. Whipping out the small cell, "Yes?"

"It's Darryl," the non-descript voice on the other end replied. "Seems prudence paid off. I caught Leo Hanson and his Grovyle in the woods outside the building." In the background, a soft growl from a charizard was just audible. "What do you want me to do with them?"

The decision was easy: "Keep them; they'll just get in the way. Incidentally, there's a truck parked outside at the front doors that shouldn't be there. And…the guards seemed to have disappeared. Please check it out." As he spoke, he glanced again at the small monitor showing the view at the front of the building, still showing no one there, although the woman driver he saw just a couple minutes before…she _almost_ looked familiar.

"Yes sir," the voice replied before terminating the call.

"Anything important, Kol?"

Kol turned about to face his 'friend', unable to not glance at the burn scars on his hands for the thousandth time. After all these years, he couldn't help but smile inwardly at what it symbolically meant. "We should increase security at the front. I think we have others trying to get in besides Mr. Hanson. Please see to it, Terrace. And take Gerald with you; his blastoise I think is bored."

Terrace returned an expectant grin before moving for the stairs and down to the lab floor; Kol noticed several of the scientists around him staring.

"What's going on?" one of them asked hesitantly.

Kol narrowed his eyes, concentrating. "I think you should focus on getting this gate working…" It took nearly a minute, but eventually the scientists nodded in agreement. "We need to prepare for another attempt in five minutes."

"Five minutes? But…we haven't even finished analyzing the data from the last attempt!"

"Don't worry. We'll shut it down before anything bad happens." At least from the gate.

With some alarm, he noticed his hands shaking slightly and thrust them into his pockets to hide it. Damn, he was getting nervous. But after four attempts over two days, they still hadn't been successful and he was getting impatient. Just how many more portal openings was it going to take; they had to sense it! And surely, the message of what they were doing had reached them by now.

* * *

"What trouble?"

"I don't know; I just…felt something. I think he needs help." Leo wished he could offer some proof, but it was like as some Pokémon referred to as a "sixth sense". Well, there was the fact his human self wasn't answering the radio…

A subtle but sharp click reverberated from the corridor on the other side of the lobby, getting everyone's attention. Sharp footfalls on the hard floor from at least two people approaching soon followed.

"Company's coming," Chris whispered anxiously.

Leo noticed Celebi floating around and behind his head before feeling her grip on his head fins with her tiny hands. "Are we going to fight?" she asked in a higher than usual pitch.

His heart really began to pound, hoping Chris's other Pokémon could handle them. If only his arm was fully healed already! At least he could still fire off a water pulse… "Maybe."

"Has to be Derganio, they'd be the only ones working around the clock here." Swinging around, Sally faced them with her own nervous expression: "Listen, if something happened to Leo, then we got to get in there and disable that gate by ourselves!"

"What about Leo…"

For an instant, Sally looked indecisive, frightened. Then reaching into her pocket, she fished out a small flashlight. "I know, but if they've already discovered him, we can't waste any time."

Chris nodded, but didn't sound very confident, "But if we meet those charizards or the blastoise…"

"I'll do my best for you!" Pikachu said, putting on a brave face as he tugged on Chris's pants.

"We'll try too," Leo added.

Focused more on him and Blaze, the red head shook her head: "No, you two need to find Leo. You too, Celebi. Go find him and help him." Blaze caught the tossed flashlight. "You might need that. Now hurry and go!"

The footsteps were nearly there as he followed Blaze in rushing back out the doors, Celebi floating closely behind. He didn't need much urging to go to the aid of his human self. There was a certain natural obligation to do so, despite Chris and Sally perhaps needing all the help they could get. But no sooner in leaving the front steps did they spot the human at the side of the driveway, barely lit in the dim light from a solitary light attached to the front of the building.

"You two!" he shouted, pointing a finger at them.

"The human with the charizards!" Blaze yelped in surprise, his red and yellow mane puffing greatly as he clenched his fists.

"What are you doing here?" Leo shouted back, debating whether to run back into the building.

"Ah, so it _does_ talk, like everyone claims!" the dark brown-haired man returned. "But you're asking _my_ question. Actually, how about that battle you wanted so badly before, swampert, or should I say Leo the human turned Pokémon? Confronting me the other day cost me some stature! This time, you _won't_ be walking away!" Narrowing his eyes menacingly, he started reaching to his belt.

"Blaze, NOW!" Coming to an instant decision, he jumped into a full run straight at the man without hesitation. If he released his charizards…

The human jerked with a screech. In a blur, he whipped out the Pokéball, but it was too late…the charizard appeared at the end of the beam too far behind...

With a yell, Leo crashed his right side into the human with all his momentum, knocking him over and leaving them both on the ground. Blaze, only a hair behind, clamped on to the struggling man's arm with his teeth, forcing an even louder scream out of him before he released the Pokéball from his pained hand.

"GET OFF HIM!" a voice roared almost on top of them.

Leo glanced up in time to see the charizard raising one of his mighty clawed hands in preparation to strike…then a pair of tiny light green hands appear from behind his head to cover his eyes.

"You need to mellow big boy!" Celebi said in her high-pitched voice that seemed even higher than normal.

"Leo, get the ball!" Blaze shouted through clenched teeth, almost drowned out by the charizard's roars behind them and just before the man hit him hard in the ribs, forcing him to release his arm.

Thrusting his legs, he dived for the barely visible red and white ball as it started rolling off the road and down the dark slope beyond, no sooner securing it in his hand before hearing Blaze scream. Looking behind with a start, he leapt just in time to dodge the fire attack from the charizard even as its tail whipped around to knock Blaze off the human, along with a head shake that completely dislodged Celebi!

Even before landing, Leo had the Pokéball held in front of him, one of his large three fingers on the small button and pointing toward the charizard.

Surprise at once replaced the furious expression on the dragon's face. "Hey, don't you..."

He pressed the button. Splitting open, the red beam shot out from the ball, enveloping the large Pokémon and quickly absorbing him into it's confines before sealing itself again within only a few seconds. For a moment, it was hard to believe what he just did. Was it really that easy to defeat the such a powerful of Pokémon with one of these balls?

Picking himself up off the hard pavement with a moan and a hand to his ribs, Blaze was still quick in sending a flame out of his mouth to strike the ground in front of the human, forcing him to halt his advance while brightly illuminating his face.

That face…illuminated like it was… That was it; it was in a dream! Except it must of really been the Dimensional Scream…

"Leo, the other ball!" Blaze shouted after expanding the last of his fiery breath.

It took him a second to regain his awareness before charging toward the human as he started running away, quickly catching up as Blaze cut him off. With a swipe from his right arm, he tripped their quarry and landed land on top, grabbing the other Pokéball off his belt.

"Thieves! _Pokémon_ thieves!" the human cried.

"Self preservation!" Leo returned. Then in as angry a tone as he could muster while hovering his face just in front of the man's: "Where's Leo Hanson?" The human grimaced as he put more weight on his stomach.

"He's…that…way!" the man answered with difficulty, pointing off into the woods. "Get…off!"

"Without those charizards, he should be harmless, right?" Blaze asked, pointing to the two Pokéballs.

As far as he knew.

Celebi appeared before them, holding one of her arms. It was scratched. "Are humans harmless without Pokémon to do their fighting?"

"I don't know, but we have to go," Leo answered and climbed off the human, who immediately took off running….with a limp and a groan.

Leading the three of them into the woods beyond the road, he noted the human did at least point in the direction he appeared to be coming from when they first spotted him. "Celebi, thanks for your help. We could've been hurt pretty bad if you hadn't distracted that charizard."

"You're welcome…cuties! Glad I could be useful! Just hope Grovyle is alright…and your other self of course, Leo!"

It was far too dark to see anyone blushing, not that Blaze would've have been considering the circumstances they were in. His partner held up the flashlight in one of his purple hands, and after taking a moment to figure out how to turn it on, a bright pale-blue shaft of light soon was beaming from it and revealing a lot of undergrowth growth in front of them.

Following him through it, Leo could see his partner struggling, even still holding his side with one hand. "Blaze, are you alright? You took some hits."

"I'll heal," he replied shortly, casting the light around them to illuminate the area.

Speaking of injuries, he looked back to Celebi.

"I'll be fine too," she replied, not releasing the grip on her rather frail-looking arm.

At least she was flying just fine, but he instantly felt bad being the only one who didn't get hurt in the "fight".

A large rustling and some snapping twigs nearby got their attention; Blaze led them toward the sound. Soon after, the beam of the flashlight caught movement behind the trees, and getting closer, they broke out into a partial clearing in which…

Jumping back at the sight of the red-scaled charizard, Blaze still nearly backed into him.

Glancing at the second ball in his hand, it was now obvious it was empty!

"I've seen you two," the charizard greeted in it's deep raspy voice, fully facing them while pointing a claw in their direction. "You were with these other two." With his other hand, he indicated the two dark forms on the ground as he partly spread his wings. "I think I'm not going to run from you weaklings this time!"

"Hurry, get him in the ball!" Blaze hissed.

He didn't need to be told twice! Holding up the second Pokéball, he hoped he guessed right as to which one was still empty!

The charizard's eyes grew wide in the beam of the flashlight. "You…put that down! You're not a human!" Rearing his head back, the glow of a flame started lighting the inside of his mouth…

Hitting the button on the ball, the second charizard was fully absorbed in the span of a few hurried breaths, and he was down by his human self's side.

"They're unconscious," Blaze quickly determined, holding his free hand first over one nose, than the other.

"Can we wake them up?" Celebi asked, worry evident in her voice while she hovered close overhead.

Leo tried shaking his human self, getting nothing. Blaze got a better response from Grovyle, who opened his eyes.

"Blaaaze?" Grovyle asked with slurred speech. "What…hap…what happened?"

"I think that human with the charizards ambushed you. We just fought him off and captured the them."

"Captured?"

Holding up the two Pokéballs, one in each hand, Leo flashed a grin but quickly faced his human self with worry. "He may be hurt."

Grovyle fought to get himself up on an elbow, Blaze helping him, to put a hand on the human and shake him himself. His effort brought the same non-response. "He's out cold."

"Is he hurt?" Leo asked insistently. Without knowing or remembering much about human physiology, he just couldn't tell!

"Don't know," Grovyle replied. "Probably not too…bad." With that, the green Pokémon let himself back to the ground, holding his own head. "But he's going to have a headache for sure. Feels like a charizard hit me pretty good!"

"That's because that charizard probably _did_ hit you pretty good!" Blaze replied. Then: "Huh?"

Leo suddenly felt it too. Like a mild pulsing through the ground, the vibration didn't feel like any earthquake he'd ever experienced… "What is that?"

Sitting up with a look of alarm, "The gate is being activated again," Grovyle answered.

"Again?' Celebi exclaimed.

"They did this right after we left the truck," Grovyle continued. "Didn't you feel it?"

"We didn't feel anything before!" Leo said, surprised at all this. If that was already twice in the span of only a few minutes, the disaster could come at any moment!

"Truck must have isolated you then…"

Celebi began floating in quick, nervous-looking movements around them. "We have to stop them! They could be causing the disaster…or…" She stopped dead in the air, eyes very wide.

"What?" Blaze asked.

Visibly swallowing hard, "Dialga and Palkia…they're coming. They said they wouldn't wait long to destroy the gate if they sensed it working. Dialga was going to create a slight time distortion to left me know when they did… I sense that now. I have to be..." With a last high-pitched unintelligible squeal, she rose up into the air and shot out of sight over the trees, straight toward the building.

"Leo, if they're coming, we need to be there too!" Blaze said excitedly, glancing several times between him and where Celebi went.

Looking down at his human self, he couldn't disagree but he couldn't leave his other self either!

"Leo, Blaze, help me carry him," Grovyle said, rising to a crouch on shaky legs while placing his arms under the human's shoulders.

"I'm stronger," Leo said, stopping Blaze from crouching and instead handing him the Pokéballs. Putting his good arm under his human self's feet, he picked up him up with Grovyle and together, they started going as fast as the two of them could back through the woods, Blaze lighting the way.

* * *

"Power output at eighty percent."

"Hold it steady there," Kol told the scientist, determined to not repeat the mistake they made last time that nearly destroyed the gate. Down below, the light grey outline of a barely formed dimensional portal refracted gently and serenely in the middle of the ring, creating it's own unique smell that wasn't too dissimilar to ozone. But it was unstable, and it was likely that instability that was creating the hard pulsing through the floor and presumably for some distance around outside. Still, if they didn't push any more power through the system, the portal could probably survive for at least a few minutes without causing any damage or more serious consequences.

And that was all they needed in theory; the portal only needed to exist…to be _sensed_.

Of sensing, he was doing his own, straining with all his ability and hoping for that tell-tail sign of a spatial shift arriving… His eyes shot open as his heart beat faster. Yes, that was what he expected. In fact, there was a slight time-distortion as well…

With a hand on the closest scientist's back, he spoke hurriedly: "Jiri, you and everyone else need to evacuate now. Go to our primary location and continue work there. Leave these systems running." Not so much that he particularly cared for their well-being, but they were needed elsewhere and things in the lab were about to get dangerous…exceeding so.

"What?" The man exclaimed, swinging around in obvious surprise. "We just can't leave and…"

The spatial shift and time distortion were rapidly growing stronger… "DO IT!" Kol nearly roared, more than loud enough for everyone to hear with his anger flaring at being questioned. "Everyone, get off this site NOW!" Striking his hand hard against the railing, the boom echoed through the lab, even over all the vibrations.

The scientists on the balcony suddenly wasted no time in obeying and rushing for the exit. Kol followed them down to the main floor, but after making sure the last man ran out through the doors, he moved toward the still powered-on gate instead.

No sooner had he made it to the wide opening in the glass wall separating the gate from the rest of the lab, there was a blinding flash and he nearly didn't get his sensitive eyes closed in time to avoid injury. After the light faded, he knew what he would find, sensing them as much as he saw them after turning around and opening his eyes. The two great legendary dragon Pokémon stood before him, one blue and sliver, the other white. "Dialga and Palkia," he greeted calmly, though his heart was pounding and his hands shook worse than ever. If he didn't do what he had to do here and now, there would be no point in continuing the plan, for the two powerful Pokémon would surely stop him just as he foresaw. But he was letting his emotions get out of hand; he had the advantage after all!

"Who are you?" Dialga roared in a somewhat curious tone after slamming a clawed foot onto the concrete floor, adding to the vibrations from the gate.

"This dangerous playing with dimensional portals cannot continue!" Palkia said in his equally powerful voice.

"Who's playing?" Kol returned, smiling from the fact the two Pokémon seemed surprised he could understand them.

Turning his large head in looking around the deserted lab, "Where is the human Leo Hanson?" Dialga asked. "Or the swampert Leo and infernape Blaze?"

"They're all…unavailable," he replied, taking his hands out of his pockets in preparing himself, finding them now steady. "Of course, the two Leo's are the one and the same, aren't they? Very nice, sending one here to join the other and playing around with timelines and all."

Whipping his head back forward. "WHO ARE YOU?" the blue and silver dragon of time boomed, red eyes flaring in a now angry glare.

Such power…and supreme confidence, Kol sensed in him. It almost seemed a shame to do what he had to do to the two life-givers, but the others were depending on him and he certainly couldn't jeopardize what was coming. "Oh, what's that old saying…that's for me to know and you to find out? If you can."

"_Little human_, either terminate that portal or get out of our way!" Palkia demanded, already taking a step toward the gate.

"No." Raising his hands, he willed the nearly invisible field into existence. The trap was finally sprung…

* * *

Leo didn't realize his human self was as heavy as he was. Grovyle had it worse judging by how he was struggling, but never asked to slow down. They were far behind Celebi and they needed to get back as fast as they could. After crashing through the woods, they were fortunately soon back at the building right as some humans in white coats came running out!

"What's going on?" Blaze shouted at one of the passing humans even though none of them could understand him. None of them stopped, instead going right for the parking lot.

On Grovyle's urging, Leo set his human self down against the building before rushing into the building behind him and Blaze.

Near one of the stone walls in the lobby, Sally and Chris were staring down two other humans who looked just bewildered at the last of the racing white-coated humans rushing by between them. A blastoise, the same one who had nearly killed Blaze, was lying in the middle of the floor with Pikachu, Elekid and Electabuzz all standing over him.

"Ha ha!" Blaze shouted over at the unconscious blastoise. "How's _that_ feel?"

Of the two other humans, one of them Leo never saw before, but the other was the trainer of the blastoise; his hard, chiseled face he'd never forget!

"Leo, Blaze," Sally shouted, pointing down the one corridor. "Celebi went flying down toward the lab a few seconds ago! Where's the other Leo?"

"Outside," answering as he started running through the lobby toward the corridor. If Dialga and Palkia were in the lab…

"No you _don't!_" the human next to the blastoise trainer shouted, holding out a Pokéball and releasing a breloom right in front of him! "_Uppercut!_"

Leo tried sidestepping the breloom's swinging fist, but still caught part of the blow and the next thing he knew was the extreme close-up view of the lobby's stone wall in front of him. His impact didn't cause the sudden shaking, though. Several large tremors shook everyone and rattled everything in the room as a muffled crash and explosion erupted from down the corridor. Two distinct roars permeated the walls…

"What the…?" As the breloom trainer lost his concentration, Leo watched from the floor as Pikachu, Elekid and Electabuzz all unleashed potent electric bolts into the breloom, causing her to go to her knees. By the time it's trainer refocused and attempted to shout a command, Blaze was already in front of her and releasing a scorching flamethrower attack. She went down.

More rumbling and another tremor traveled through the building, making it harder for him to get up as he rejoined the others. "Dialga and Palkia are in there," for the benefit of the others, including Sally and Chris.

The other two humans absorbed their Pokémon into Pokéballs, but stood shoulder-to-shoulder in blocking the way to the corridor.

"Get out of our way!" Sally yelled.

"You are _not_ going down there!" the blastoise trainer yelled back.

"Move!" Leo shouted, joining Grovyle in standing side-to-side with Blaze. Then losing all patience, he leapt forward and charged! With a yelp, the black-haired blastoise trainer quickly stepped aside, but the other became wild-eyed and charged back with his own yell!

He expected them to yield. Instead, he was colliding head-on with the one human! His breath left him in an instant as he was stopped dead, the human instantly bouncing backward. Blaze and Grovyle were quickly on the human, slamming him against the corridor's wall hard as all the other Pokémon raced past.

"Are you OK?" Sally asked, stopping before him with worry in her face. Bringing a hand across his forehead, it came away wet and red…

Nodding, he really wasn't feeling too much except for some slight stinging and a pat on his back. Was he stunned? The collision felt a bit weird…

"Come on!" Chris shouted, urging them in the direction of the lab.

Several more rumbles and tremors rocked the building as they all ran down the corridor, leaving the one human slumped against the wall and the other running outside. But as they rounded the final corner, it became eerily quiet. Only seconds later they burst into the project area, then finally into lab room itself…

Sally gasped.

"My God," Chris exclaimed.

The lab was…rearranged from the last time he was there. Smoky haze hung in the air, some still being released by obviously wrecked equipment strewn about. Electrical sparks jumped here and there from various cables while a faint hissing emanated from a ruptured hose over head, a white smoke shooting out. The gate…a large, black scorch-mark ringed where a huge hole had been blasted out of the structure.

And Dialga and Palkia…of them there was no sign. But there was movement. For just an instant, Leo caught sight of a tall, thin, white-haired man just exiting a side door.

Hurrying, he wasn't quick enough as the door had already long since closed in front of him…and it was locked. Pounding only proved it was metal and very solid!

"Was that him, the human you saw in that vision?" Blaze asked, already beside and testing the door himself.

"Blaze! Leo!"

Looking up, Leo spotted Celebi floating above them. She was crying…

"That human was _fighting_ both Dialga and Palkia! He made them…_disappear!_"

He didn't have time to ask how before a third human came stumbling into the lab, letting out yet another gasp, along with a moan.

"Leo!" Sally cried, quickly getting her arms around the human as he looked to fall over.

* * *

The sight of the lab alone was almost enough to make Leo Hanson pass out, his pounding head not helping matters. From there, things moved in a blur from where he was eased down against the wall. Sally, Chris, his Pokémon counterpart, and the other Pokémon were all moving about, but he did focus and listen.

"Reebee bee bee rayinee…"

His counterpart started translating what the floating light green Pokémon was saying: "That white-haired human made Palkia and Dialga disappear! He also told them that this was the beginning of a new world, and that he wasn't going to let them get in his way!"

"Just the beginning?" Sally asked the petite Pokémon, turning away from him. "Of what? What'd he mean by that? Why did he destroy the lab? Doesn't this prevent the disaster?"

Celebi continued in a long string of humanly undecipherable syllables, the swampert translating only after a long moment: "Dialga said, just before he disappeared, that the disaster is yet to come! It…"

"But…the gate is _destroyed!_" Sally nearly screeched, pointing to the large ring where it sat behind it's partially shattered thick glass wall. "It has a large _chuck_ missing out of it, damn it!"

Celebi retreated from her to float near Grovyle.

"It…"

"How can there be _any_ kind of disaster?" Sally continued, cutting off the swampert. With a kick, the red-head removed a small box from the immediate area.

"Everything we've done, and we still haven't stopped it?" Chris asked.

Leo Hanson couldn't focus clearly on anyone's face for more than a couple seconds, but it was enough to tell they were all shocked. He was too unsteady to feel much of anything.

"Dialga _also_ said the disaster won't happen here, but somewhere _else!_" the swampert said. After some momentary silence, "Celebi, where did Dialga and Palkia go?" he asked, eliciting a head shake from her. "How can a mere human make both Dialga and Palkia disappear?"

Leo watched Chris and his counterpart continue to talk about the human they saw as he slumped closer to the floor, the threat of unconsciousness still hanging over him. Grovyle's face was quickly in front of his, along with the feel of the points of his fingers gently on his eyelids in taking a long look in his eyes.

"I'll be fine," he told his partner, even though he was sweating and felt like hell. Despite that, he still was able to think, at least a little. If the looming disaster wasn't to be caused by the dimensional gate and was going to happen elsewhere, yet Dialga had before said he and his counterpart were somehow tied to it… How?

As only a stray thought, he found it surprisingly helpful: what they needed was another vision of the future. But he needed to touch something connected with it…connected with the particular future they needed to see. That white-haired human the others saw just before he got into the lab, the same one he saw in the last vision, he must have something to do with all this! But that human was gone and untouchable at the moment. Although…

"Leo…" getting his counterpart's attention.

* * *

Leo listened to his human self with some doubt. Then, the Dimensional Scream did have the knack of working just when he needed it. It also had the knack of _not_ working just when he needed it. If he had to judge the ratio, he'd call it less than fifty-fifty - not in it's favor.

Also, he'd already touched that human when they collided head-on, and he'd gotten nothing…

…except that weird feeling, like he briefly wasn't there…

Maybe it _wasn't_ just an effect of the physical collision?

With Blaze and Chris, he left the shattered and smoky lab to run back down the corridor. The human who had so bravely (and foolishly) took him on literally head-to-head was still where they had left him, though he was beginning to stir. That surprised him considering how hard Blaze and Grovyle had slammed him into the wall. He had actually been a little scared they might had killed him.

Crouching down beside him, he noticed his scarred hands. They looked like serious burns and he shuddered to think how he got them. It was only worth a moment's pause though, and placing his blue three-fingered hand on the human's head, he waited. If there was ever a time for his ability to work, it would be now with possibly the world's fate depending on it.

In only a few seconds, he actually felt relied as the somewhat familiar feeling of faintness came over him…

Two white doors were before him, dimly lit from behind him. But they quickly parted and the tall, pale human with nearly white long hair came walking in, flanked by the man with the scarred hands and the charizard trainer. They were talking, but he couldn't hear them. Instead, his view pivoted around to follow them, revealing the room to be large as well as what it contained. If he had eyes there, they widened…

"Leo?" Blaze's voice asked.

Shaking his head, he picked himself off the floor with help from both Blaze and Chris, noticing the flashing lights through the windows of the front lobby doors accompanied by the sound of sirens. Chris urged them back into the lab to rejoin Sally and his human self, who looked slightly more alert than when he left him.

"It worked," Leo announced before anyone could ask. "I saw that white-haired human as well as the man in the corridor and one of the other trainers with him." Putting himself directly in front of his human counterpart to make sure he would hear him clearly as the sound of people coming down the corridor echoed, "I also saw…_another gate_."

* * *

Leo Hanson hated hospitals; ambulances slightly less so. He wearily stared out the back of the one while the two EMS people worked around him, monitoring either the displays or detaching various sensors. He wished Sally was there, or even his Pokémon counterpart or Chris, but the Police were busy with them, as they would be with him as soon as the EMS people let him go.

At least his story would be fairly easy. He had been knocked out for much of what happened, but the others…he sure hoped the story they came up with before hand would be enough. He really wasn't looking forward to jail time.

Although, if the coming disaster resulted in the destruction of the planet, then it really wouldn't matter. A second gate, just like theirs? Would he dare to guess that Derganio Corp was behind the first one he saw in one of the visions, the one that was apparently destroyed, and that they never gave up and built a second? And just how did the University's gate project fit into all of it? Why would they bother to take it over if they had their own all along?

The one EMS technician was suddenly before him: "You have a mild concussion. I really don't think you need to go to the hospital, but make sure you take it easy for the next couple of days. Have someone else drive you home and just take something for the pain if needed. You should be perfectly fine in a couple days. If not, go to the ER."

Leo thanked them as they helped him out the back and down to the ground…and right to the waiting officers.

Unfortunately the night wasn't over yet.

* * *

Leo watched Sally literally fall onto the sofa. "God, it's three a.m.! I think I'm going to sleep right here."

"Feel free," his human self answered as he appeared to drag himself upstairs.

Leo followed with Blaze, Chris, Grovyle and Celebi all right behind. He felt sorry for the three humans as they were 'grilled', as Chris later put it, by the police for a couple hours. Fortunately, the two Derganio security men in the back of the truck had somehow left by the time the police arrived in response to the alarm in one of the other project labs. Sally assumed the evacuating Derganio people had found their coworkers and got them out of there. However they left, the fact that there were no Derganio people left made things a lot easier for all of them.

Well, except for the one human with the scarred hands, although from what he had overheard, he refused to talk much. Being from Derganio, which was part owner of the building, he was going to be released soon anyway, according to one of the officers.

Scratching the itch on his nose, he remembered too late the bandage put there by the ambulance people and cringed slightly at the brief pain from the minor injury.

Of course, none of them had said anything about what really happened in the lab, and certainly nothing about Dialga and Palkia or the looming disaster. For himself, being a Pokémon allowed him to play dumb; if one wasn't expected to be able to speak, the expectation of answers is greatly diminished!

The end result of it all was the Police letting them go home…eventually.

Once in the guest bedroom, Chris appeared to be asleep as soon as he hit the bed, but Leo found his mind working a little too much for that just yet. It was disturbing him greatly after all he and Blaze had gone through from coming to the human world, to finding his human self, believing the gate project was the cause of the disaster and convincing everyone to halt it, and finally confronting the Derganio people at the lab, that they had accomplished…_nothing_. The disaster was still coming! And it wasn't this dimensional gate that was the cause, but likely a different gate somewhere else none of them even knew had existed!

There was a nudge into his side.

"Leo, you awake?" Blaze asked in a weary-sounding whisper.

"Yes," replying softly, hoping he didn't wake Celebi who was nestled softly on his back and neck with her head between his two head fins.

"We're going to have to find that other ring, aren't we? And soon."

"Yes." If they were still going to prevent whatever terrible thing was going to happen. "Maybe we'll find Dialga and Palkia there, too."

After a quiet sigh: "What do you think happened to them?"

"I don't know." Really, how did they disappear, by what method?

"I can help thinking…if we had gotten there earlier, maybe…" Blaze's voice cracked a little. "…they wouldn't have disappeared. We should have been there to help."

He really hoped the two legendary Pokémon disappearance's wasn't the same as when he had disappeared after stopping Temporal Tower's collapse; namely, being erased from existence. And yes, he too was feeling some guilt for not being there, but… "If that human was strong enough to do that to Dialga and Palkia together, what chance would we have had?" Not that it made him feel any better, but the fact was true nonetheless.

"I… They trusted us to help them, and we failed them. Now they're gone!"

It stung. They did fail. "We don't know what happened to them. They could have just went somewhere else, Blaze."

"That's not what Celebi said. She said the human _made_ them disappear. How can a human have that much power, anyway?"

"I don't know, but they still could be somewhere else. And we haven't failed yet; there's still time. Starting tomorrow, we need to concentrate on finding that second gate. And to do that, we need to get some sleep." He hoped about the first thing he said with all his will, but he was certain about the others.

After letting out a deep sigh, "Thanks, Leo…for keeping hope alive."

He felt his partner adjust himself on the cramped floor, the long, thick hair of his mane ending up against his good arm. Closing his eyes, he was glad Blaze was now trying to sleep. Slowly, and not without false starts, his own consciousness eventually faded into sleep.


	15. Chapter 15: Cape Kippel

**Chapter 15: Cape Kippel**

Leo Hanson rolled himself out of bed, feeling only half awake despite the clock displaying well past eight. Well, including the two hours it took him to finally fall asleep…

It wasn't till he was almost in the bathroom that he noticed the shower was already occupied. Must have still been asleep when his swampert counterpart passed through his bedroom… Quietly diverting to the guest bath, he found that occupied too. Judging from the sound, it had to be Blaze in there. Clattering dishes and such came from downstairs, proving the kitchen had activity as well, with the occasional "Grovyle" and Sally's and Chris's voices indicating just who was preparing that morning's breakfast. The smell of good things cooking only intensified the hunger already gnawing at his stomach.

Yep, nothing like having a house full of guests…

Deciding to head back to his bedroom and wait for his counterpart to finish, he turned back only to be startled by Celebi.

"Reeree!" she greeted in her high-pitched voice with a weak smile.

"I sure wish you could speak human too," he replied.

"Reeabee."

"And I sure wish I knew what to do next, as well as have a few questions answered." Her tiny hand slid across his shoulder as he walked past her. Well obviously, they needed to find the other gate. But where to even start looking?

When the swampert finally was out of the shower, he wasted no time in hopping in to the still steamy stall. By the time he was out and dressed, breakfast was waiting in the kitchen. It was a fast affair, with little talking and quick eating, meaning everyone else was as hungry as he was, but he knew it wasn't the only reason. The mood around the table was noticeably on the depressed side, judging from the frowns and with everyone appearing lost in their own thoughts.

Decided to break the moodiness, "Chris, you'll be off to the tournament today, right?" Leo asked. "Doesn't it start this afternoon?"

The blonde-haired trainer glanced to Sally before answering. "Well, I thought I would help you find that other gate and take it out. Saving the planet from destruction seems just a little more important, I think." His words were noble enough; his tone spoke of disappointment. "If you think you need my help, of course."

"We certainly won't refuse your help again," getting a nod from Sally, "but, until we know where it is, I don't think there's too much you can do. So you might as well…"

"Actually, I've been thinking about that and might have an idea," Sally interrupted. "I think it's worth trying, anyway."

Minutes later, all of them, human and Pokémon, were gathered around the computer in his small office nook while she started searching for something on the internet. "Land ownership records?" reading what she was searching for. "Oh, of course, if Derganio Corp has a dimensional gate project somewhere, it's likely going to be on some property they own."

The red-head nodded before hitting the search button.

At first the list seemed short enough, but the hits kept coming and it soon became apparent Derganio Corporation owned a lot of land assets in many regions.

"Oh, boy," Chris said as the list reached over three screen pages.

"Alright, so why were we conducting our project where we were, being outside the city?" Sally asked.

Leo smiled, seeing (and admiring) her logic at work. "Because of the danger; we knew we shouldn't have it in any population center."

"So they probably did the same?" his Pokémon counterpart asked.

"I should hope so," Sally replied. Scrolling down the list as all of them looked on, Grovyle was soon pointing to one entry with the tip of a green clawed finger.

"Groveryle?"

Leo leaned in to take a closer look, fighting both Celebi and his counterpart to do so. It was getting really crowded in his office nook as Blaze nearly climbed his back to look over his shoulder. "That's certainly outside of any city… Ow!"

Blaze released the grip on his arm where his fingernails had been digging in, mumbling something unintelligible in the tone of an apology.

"Let's keep looking," Sally replied, fighting for a little space to move the mouse. Most the next page were city locations or near other installations.

"Varnocol Islands?" his counterpart said just as the name popped onto the bottom of the screen.

Sally immediately hovered the mouse over it. "Huh…" Clicking the link brought up a more detailed description as well as a map of it location. The words jumped out at him even before she read them: "'Four point nine square-mile island owned by Derganio Corporation. Used for research purposes. No unauthorized access.'"

"Look at it's location," Leo pointed out, feeling a bit of excitement at finding what appeared to be an ideal location. "It's isolated from the other islands in the group by a good fifty miles." The faces around him said it all. "Guys, I think we have our candidate."

Quickly scrolling down the remaining entries, it was apparent none of them really could be considered possibilities, at least not anywhere close to what an isolated island represented. With a few more clicks, Sally brought the entry Grovyle pointed out and the one of the island side by side. "If I had to pick between those two locations, I would say the island would be the best place if one were messing around with dimensional portals. If you could deal with the supply problems."

Leo smiled somewhat at the humor of her question. "Derganio only has a lot of money and a fleet of ships at their disposal. They're in the transportation industry, after all."

"Among a few others," Sally reminded.

"So, it looks like that's where we have to go then?" Chris asked, grinning. "Cool, I always wanted to visit a remote tropical island! So…how do we get there?"

"We'll need a boat," Leo replied, stating the obvious. "And I'll hazard a guess there's no ferry service there, at least not one they'll let us on." Surely if the portal research was being conducted on that island, there had to be a way to shuttle the people back and forth to the mainland.

"We'll have to hire one then," Sally stated, leaning back after making sure Blaze and Celebi moved out of the way. "And we can't do that here."

"Right, we need to go to a port city," Leo added. "Closest one on that side of this region is Cape Kippel.

"Good thing you still have the truck rental," Chris pointed out.

Leo silently agreed with that, though they would have to extend the length of their rental period. Which then made him realize: "Um, how much money everyone got? I don't know if I'll have enough to hire a boat and pilot." Just the cost of the extra food alone for everyone was draining the savings he had.

"Will they accept Poké money?" his counterpart asked, an apparent attempt at humor.

If only… The two Pokémon from another world certainly appeared to have plenty of it, judging by all the coinage they had. Good to know he was rich in at least one form… "I really doubt it."

"I can get some," Sally offered. "I can't imagine hiring a boat will be more than a few thousand. What we should start doing now is packing and getting some supplies for a several day-long trip. I don't know about you, but if that disaster could happen anytime in the next week, I'd rather get there sooner rather than later to try and stop it."

"Agreed," Leo added.

"There's something I'm wondering about," Chris said. "If Derganio has their own gate, why did they take yours over? Or even fund it?"

He'd asked himself that same question, but hadn't thought that much about it. "I don't know. Maybe they wanted to try something without risking their own?" He had to admit that really didn't seem like a good reason. Then on remembering that Derganio could have some prior knowledge of the disaster: "Or…if they _knew_ about the disaster and that someone was likely coming to stop them… Could it have been bait, to divert us…" His eyes widened at his next thought: "…or even divert Dialga and Palkia to it instead of what they were _really_ protecting?"

Showing surprise, "That…would make a lot of sense," Sally said, "and explain why all the Derganio people bailed out of there so quickly after Dialga and Palkia were gone. That would mean, their real fear was Dialga and Palkia stopping them."

"It'd also explain why that Derganio guy with the blastoise gave us that message…he must of known word would reach Dialga and Palkia via Celebi!"

He felt Blaze jump next to him before yipping something out.

"Dialga and Palkia were baited?" his counterpart asked in alarm. "Just so this human could wait for them and make them disappear?"

"Ree ree ree…" Celebi floated down near the floor…

"It adds up," Sally answered. "Get those who might stop you out of the way first before moving forward with what they would try and stop you from doing. _Assuming_ they knew about Dialga and Palkia, they obviously would be the biggest threat. But if they knew about your counterpart's story, then they would know… Think our lab was bugged?"

"I wouldn't put it past those people," Leo replied with a little anger. "And to actually get rid of those two Pokémon, it had to of been that white-haired guy." Whoever that human was, he was no fool. Facing Celebi: "I think we need to know everything you saw when Dialga and Palkia were fighting that human. I mean you were in the lab with the two of them when he made them disappear. How come you didn't disappear too?"

* * *

Leo thought the question more than a little wrong, especially when Celebi lowered her face, appearing distraught. "That's mean!" scolding his other self.

His human self at once seemed to realize how he must of sounded, his expression changing to surprise. "Sorry. I meant, if this human did what he did to Dialga and Palkia, then he clearly has a powerful…" He shrugged. "…ability, or has some technology at his disposal we know nothing about. Since Celebi survived that attack, that could be a clue about him that might make a difference for us."

All eyes turned to the small floating Pokémon, waiting for an answer. What took Leo aback were the tears welling up around her dark-framed eyes. "I…was scared. All three of them looked so powerful…I hid behind something and only watched. The way they were fighting…I just couldn't do anything! I don't have that kind of power! I'm sorry!" Focusing on him, she appeared to beg for forgiveness and was clearly about ready to lose it. "I was a coward!" she squeaked.

He swallowed, not sure what to say. He'd assumed she gone in there to help. Well she had, but he could also see how she could've been so frightened as to not be able to do anything. It reminded him when he and Blaze had to take on Dialga and later Palkia. They may have appeared brave to an observer, but he for one was as scared as any Pokémon facing near certain death. To this day he was surprised the two of them won and it still made his heart beat quicker just thinking about it. But to take on someone who had the power to defeat _both_ of them at the same time… Lowering himself down to look better into her face: "Celebi, considering the power that human obviously had, I would've been really scared and probably hiding too. I _mean_ that."

Blaze also moved by her: "Ha ha, I'm not so sure you could've done anything anyway. You probably would be gone too, and then we wouldn't know what happened at all!"

"Yes," Grovyle said in turn. "By knowing what happened, we at least now will have a clue what we could be up against. You made the right decision, Celebi. Don't doubt yourself."

Leo finally translated what Celebi said, though phrasing it more gently than she herself had put it.

Both Sally and his human self frowned, the red-head speaking first: "Celebi, did you see if there was any technology involved? Did that person have or touch anything that looked like a machine while he was fighting?"

Celebi wiped her face, looking long at Grovyle while attempting to dry her tears before shaking her head.

His human self exchanged worried glances with Sally, while Chris's eyes widened. "Are you saying that guy…had special powers, like a Pokémon?"

Leo also caught the implication. "Could he _be_ part Pokémon?"

"Is that possible?" Blaze asked, mirroring the same question spoken by his human counterpart a second later.

Everyone focused on him and he shrugged. How was he supposed to know? He was completely changed into a Pokémon by some attack from Darkrai while in a time vortex; that didn't mean he knew anything!

"Genetic experimentation?" Sally proposed. "It's been tried before, but…not on humans, as far as I ever heard about."

"We're not exactly in that research area, though," his human self pointed out.

"Neither is Derganio, supposedly," Sally countered. "They're in energy and transportation, not biosciences. They own no subsidiaries in that area, at least not publically."

"A black ops project?"

"I'm thinking it would take the personal wealth of a individual or small group to make such a thing happen in secret. I just don't think a corporation could hide that much money, not with all the accounting rules that are in place."

"Well, if this human is really around thirty or forty years old as he looked, we're talking a while ago when such a project was started."

"OK then, did the technology exist for genetic engineering that long ago?" Sally asked.

"I would seriously doubt it," his human self answered.

Leo struggled to understand what they were talking about.

"What's genetic engineering?" Blaze asked, the same question seemingly mirrored by Celebi though Grovyle appeared he might have a clue.

"Something to do with…the physical makeup of one's body…I think," he answered. Damn that he had only a fraction of his human memory and knowledge yet. But he seriously started wondering if the one vision that had put such a fear into him, the one where he saw a lab being destroyed and humans killed, if there wasn't a connection to that 'white-haired' human beyond the two things being part of Derganio. "We need to know more about that human," he finally announced.

"Can't disagree," his other self said. "But I don't think we have time to do a lot a research any more."

"How about all of you start getting things packed and ready, while I spend a little time here doing that research?" Sally proposed. "I'll only need a quick stop at an ATM and my house on the way out of town to pick up a few clothes."

"OK. But try to call the Professor too, see if he's back yet. He might be able to tell us something and I'd rather he hear what happened to the lab from us first than the Police or the University."

"Right, and I should probably call George and the others too. I'm sure they're wondering why they haven't heard from us for a while." Then in response to several stares: "Don't worry, I'll keep them out of the loop!"

* * *

Leo Hanson felt a certain nervousness about it all as he tried thinking of everything they'd need for their upcoming trip. He never really done anything like this before. Not even close. Heck, until they broke into their lab last night, he'd never done anything that could be considered even remotely "illegal" or all that dangerous. Well, there was the one speeding ticket… Still, for what they were about to attempt, legality was the least of their worries. There were obvious (and likely not so obvious) dangers far greater than merely breaking the law they were probably going to face. Considering what that one human did to two very powerful Pokémon, their very survival was likely to be at risk.

"Let's see, basic camping gear, dehydrated food, rain gear, binoculars," rattling off the list of things they had already picked up to Chris and Grovyle. "Anything else?"

"Toilet paper," Chris said dryly.

"Grooo-vyle," his green skinned partner confirmed along with emphatic nodding of his head.

"Uh, right." Yes, even most Pokémon preferred using it, at least those that lived with humans in their houses. If ever there was such a thing as a universal constant between humans and Pokémon…

After picking up a few compact rolls, they went through the baskets of items, trying to come up with anything they were missing and discovering a couple minor items Chris thought they should have. The twenty-some year-old trainer already had everything he needed for himself, since he hiked between towns when he had time for battling, and some of the things he had could be shared equally well, so that really only left things that Sally and himself needed personally. And then, since they would be driving to Cape Kippel, they only needed really basic stuff for whatever awaited them on the island…also perhaps for the boat trip on whatever boat they managed to hire. A cheap boat probably wouldn't come with much in the way of cooking equipment or even bunks, he guessed. Not an appealing prospect for a ride that looked to take around most of a day or more, judging by pure distance.

Whatever the accommodations, he just hoped whoever they hired wouldn't ask too many questions as to their purpose. However, those that wouldn't ask questions were not only likely to be more expensive, but of the shady variety as well. Which only made him wonder if telling someone the world was going to end unless they helped would compel them to do so.

Probably best not to play that card unless they absolutely had to.

After a final tally of what they had, Leo paid for the merchandise and they headed back to his house.

As much as he knew they had to do what they were going to do, he couldn't stop himself from getting more and more nervous. Was this how his counterpart in the other timeline felt before he walked into the dimensional portal and traveled to the Poké world? He had only Grovyle with him. This time, he had not just his close partner, but Sally, Chris and his Pokémon, as well as his Pokémon counterpart, _his_ partner and Celebi. Certainly no shortage of help! But could Dusknoir or Darkrai even compare to this human they might be facing?

"I think his name is Kol Tarmoroki," Sally said in handing him a photo printout almost as soon as they walked in the door. Celebi was immediately floating by his head, pointing excitedly to a tall, thin human with long, almost white hair appearing in a group with a bunch of other people…including Terrace, the man with the scarred hands, standing right next to him.

"This is the only photo of him I could find on Derganio's website," Sally continued. "And guess what? He's the president of their research division. Apparently has a lot of clout in Derganio. Although I couldn't get a organizational tree, I think they implied he only reports to the CEO himself. And one other thing, the CEO has apparently been absent a lot, with Kol filling in for most of the last few years."

"What does that mean exactly?" Chris asked.

"Not really implying anything…yet, other then he seems to have a lot of control in the corporation. Another interesting tidbit: there are no references to him until a little over six years ago, when he was first hired by Derganio."

Leo looked to his coworker, immediately seeing the coincidence.

"Isn't that about the time you started the gate project?" his Pokémon counterpart asked.

* * *

Leo felt the truck rock slightly as someone got in before the door slammed shut and they got moving again amid a bit of sputtering. As Sally said, it didn't take her very long to get her things packed.

The drive to Cape Kippel was supposed to take around five hours and leaving in the early afternoon, meant they should arrive around sunset. Both his human self and Sally suggested everyone else get as much sleep as they could on the way, since they didn't know if they would be leaving that evening on a boat or not.

Given all the vibrations in the back where he, Blaze, Grovyle and Celebi were, sleep didn't seem very likely, despite the piles of blankets on the floor.

"I really hope Dialga and Palkia are OK," Blaze said out of the blue. "Celebi, how did they disappear again, exactly?"

The small light-green Pokémon looked rather sad, the dark circles around her eyes appearing more dark then usual in the dim illumination of the overhead light and whatever light was leaking in from outside. "That human Kol, after Palkia hit that gate ring, he raised his hands at them and an almost clear sphere surrounded them. They started glowing and…then they disappeared. They were just…_gone._"

They were all silent for a few heartbeats and Leo tried imagining what that looked like for the hundredth time.

"I've never heard of an attack like that," Grovyle said.

"Neither have I," Leo added. "What kind of an attack surrounds someone and makes them disappear?"

Shrugging, "A kind of attack that erases someone's existence?" Blaze suggested.

Grovyle started running his fingers over his leaf blades on one wrist, gently pulling one in a seemingly nervous motion. "If such an attack exists, we could be in real trouble," letting out a long hiss as if to emphasize.

Leo resisted nodding, but thought the same thing. 'Trouble' was probably an understatement. So what could he say to keep their spirits up? "The only way we know for that to happen is to travel into the past and change it. There must be a different explanation." Grovyle did nod, though they all looked to Celebi. If anyone besides Dialga would know the answer, she would.

"I don't know," she replied. "Traveling to the past is the only way I know too, but that doesn't mean there couldn't be another way."

So much for that, Leo thought sadly.

* * *

With Sally driving and Chris in the center, Leo Hanson settled himself in for the long drive. Sally insisted on driving, but he suspected he'll probably be taking over at some point. Not that he was complaining about just sitting; it'd been a long time since he had the opportunity to see the city from above ground while someone else drove.

The most striking thing about the city that afternoon were the occasional bright, bold banners strung overhead between streetlights, each proudly welcoming all participants to the Pokémon League Tournament that was starting that day. Carefully looking beside him, he found Chris watching the same banners with a disappointed expression.

If only they had succeeded last night. Well actually, they had. The University's gate was certainly out of commission, Palkia himself apparently having done the honor according to Celebi. Only it wasn't their gate that was supposed to be the source of the disaster after all. All this time Derganio had been building their own dimensional gate, and had likely been playing them as fools the entire time. But why fund the University's effort then?

Perhaps they wanted some technology they were having trouble developing themselves? In light of the facts as they knew them, it seemed more likely it was all a trap. But a trap for Dialga and Palkia?

Sure, he was the first to suggest it. Just one problem with that scenario: how could anyone at Derganio have known about Dialga and Palkia, or that they would try and stop the project? Well, they got their information about his counterpart somehow…as well as complete access to the lab. Wasn't much of a stretch they could have found out about Dialga and Palkia too. Only real question was what their mechanism for getting that information was, exactly.

Once again, a bug somewhere seemed likely.

In any case, the entire thing made him angry to the point he was almost looking forward to messing with Derganio in turn.

But that human Kol worried him…greatly. According to his counterpart, Dialga and Palkia were both powerful Pokémon, with matched as much of the old legends as he knew. The blast the gate took in the lab also proved it. If Kol could defeat _both_ of them at the same time, that made him inconceivably dangerous. Who…or what was he? A human that had Pokémon-like abilities - he _had_ to be genetically engineered. What other explanation was there? But from everything he'd read in papers about medical science, human knowledge wasn't quite at that point, yet.

Damn, he sorely wished the Professor would call. Sally had only got a hold of his wife who said he was still out of town on business. Despite leaving a message a couple days prior for him to call back ASAP, there just was no word. He hoped Derganio wasn't up to something with him as well.

Thinking of the cell phone and hoping it would vibrate reminded him what else was strapped to his belt. After removing both of them, the red and white Pokéballs glistened in the afternoon sunlight, though each had some minor scuffs. "What do you think we should do with these?" asking while nudging Chris a little.

"Depends on what we think they'll do to us," Chris replied.

"Let them go," Sally suggested instead.

Shaking his head, "That won't do anything," Chris replied. "If those charizards ever find their trainer again, they would just end up causing more trouble again. Pokémon tend to get loyal, you know."

Leo thought as much. "Guess we'll just have to keep them to keep them away from that guy."

"Have to let them out _sometime_," Chris returned. "Even though they're asleep, they have to eat and relieve themselves at least occasionally. Or if you don't, the failsafe will automatically when the need becomes great enough. No telling when that will be."

He wondered where they could let them out without risking them taking off and looking for their trainer. Probably would have to be a Pokécenter somewhere. Or they could try reasoning with them and explain why they shouldn't. No…too great a risk. Still, the charizards would probably be fine for at least a few days or even weeks without being let out, with all their bodily functions slowed down as they were. Hopefully if they accomplished disabling or destroying the other gate, it wouldn't be an issue anymore. Without a doubt the Pokémon would be taken away once all of them were in prison, and that was likely where they were all going to end up after they destroyed Derganio's property. But if they saved the world, it'd be worth it…he supposed.

Reaching to the center console, Sally inserted a small memory stick into the waiting receptacle. Within a few seconds, music with electric guitars and a decent beat erupted from the speakers. Chris started tapping his foot.

"Didn't know you liked rock," Leo commented. In fact, he couldn't recall her ever playing any music before.

"I play it when I need to unwind," she answered, briefly facing him with her still artificially blonde hair and sunglasses, looking every bit the chick the music was stereotypical of. "I think now qualifies as needing to unwind."

He couldn't disagree, realizing he was seeing a little more depth to her than he normally witnessed. Closing his eyes, he allowed the music to distract him, if only for a short while. With the warm afternoon sun beating in on his side and the wind from the open windows blowing in, he made the mistake of leaning his head back. Dreams came quickly, some involving Sally and all involving escaping.

* * *

Leo nudged both Grovyle and Blaze awake where they were still laying on the blankets when the truck finally stopped.

"Are we there yet?" Celebi asked, floating up from one of the wooden boxes and her own smaller blanket.

The back door opened and the sudden blinding light flooding in from the low sun answered her question.

"We're at the docks," his human self announcing up to them from the partly paved ground. "We're going to go into a…"

Leo leaned out the back, glancing to the side where his human self was looking; a rather weathered grey wood-clad building stood not far away. It seemed somewhat busy, with a couple humans coming and going and what he thought was music emanating from within, though the sound of wingulls could be clearly heard overhead.

"…restaurant, I guess. Anyway, we're hoping to ask around if anyone has a boat for hire."

"I've been here before once a couple years ago," Chris piped in. "It's close enough to the public small-craft port. I just remember seeing someone advertising their services here on a bulletin board."

His human self continued: "Leo, Blaze, I think you two should come with us; Grovyle, I'd appreciate it if you'll stay with Celebi and guard the truck. We'll bring you both back something to eat."

Grovyle nodded. "I need a bathroom first."

Leo translated, adding that they all probably needed such and getting nods from the others.

"Yeah, we all do," Chris said.

Grovyle and Celebi had the use of the some bushes nearby, but the rest of them waited until they got inside and were shown to a large table before making ready use of the facilities. What surprised Leo was they seemed to accommodate Pokémon.

"People do occasionally bring their Pokémon out to eat," his human self informed afterward.

Otherwise, he could only describe the place as 'junky', and the area in general was very different from the city his human self lived in, most prominently the smells being clearly of the sea. The food was as well, from filleted magikarp, lobster, salmon and clams to other assorted non-Pokémon sea life. Accentuating the somewhat dim and dirty interior were nets strung everywhere and some long, thin sticks with wicked-looking sharp metal hooks on the end of strings attaching the two together. Shells were almost strewn about, one massive one in a corner clearly being from a clamperl.

When she returned, the waitress was the first one they asked if there was anyone they could hire a boat from, which turned out to be a good choice being she claimed to know enough sailors who frequented the place. After taking their orders, she advised them to relax while she asked around.

Maybe luck was on their side for once, he mused.

Their drinks came quickly and Blaze was at once looking curiously at the foamy, amber-colored beverage the humans had ordered. Catching a whiff of it, Leo thought it smelled something like certain flowers on the Poke world, but much stronger and with a strange 'stingingness' to it.

"What to try some?" Chris asked, apparently noticing and his expression becoming strangely humorous.

Cocking his head, Blaze watched him pour a little into an empty glass and shove it to him. "Well, if they're drinking it."

Leo noticed both Sally and his human self trying hard in stifling grins as his partner put the glass to his lips and take the liquid in. Unfortunately, he also couldn't contain himself as Blaze's eyes shot wide open before he started coughing, but quickly decided to pound his back to help.

"Poison!" was Blaze's singular word when he could finally get a word out.

"It's called beer," his human self explained. "It's good stuff, but Pokémon generally don't like it."

"I've never heard of one who does," Chris added. "Still, always looking for a first." He raised his glass with a quick smile before taking a sip.

Blaze grabbed one of the unclaimed glasses of water, washing away whatever taste must of been left in his mouth while spilling some of it in his haste. "Are you going to be alright?" Leo finally asked.

After letting out a last cough: "These humans are crazy! Don't ever drink that stuff!"

"Say, since you were human, you might still like it," his human self suggested quietly, filling an unused glass with a small amount from his own large glass and sliding it over the table.

"Yeah, this'll be an interesting experiment," Chris added.

"I guess I'm a little curious too," Sally said. Folding her hands, she rested her chin on them and started watching him with everyone else.

Blaze quickly had a hand on his arm with fearful eyes as his mane puffed. "Leo, it's _horrible!_"

Leo found himself unable to resist despite his partner's warning. Chris was right; if his human counterpart liked it, it would be interesting to find out if he still liked it or not as a Pokémon. With a quick smile to Blaze, he raised the glass to his lips and after getting an almost overwhelming sniff of it's contents, let a small sip into his mouth. At first, he was inclined to agree with Blaze; the taste that hit him was horrid. Yet within seconds, it mellowed and he started recognizing the slight nuances in it's flavor. Moving the fluid down his throat, he was ready for the second opinion of another taste. This time he downed the remainder; by the time it made it down his throat and started warming his belly, he almost liked it and certainly didn't find it nearly as bad as the first sip.

His infernape partner was staring at him, agape. "You…_like_ it?"

Leo smiled back, sliding his glass back across the table, where his counterpart promptly filled it more generously this time.

"Guess I'll need to order another glass."

"Wow, a Pokémon that likes beer?" the waitress exclaimed after returning with the first of their food. "That's something I've never seen in all my years here!" Then quickly to the humans: "Hey, don't get it drunk, you know. I've never seen one, and I don't think I ever want to. Errant water pulse attacks wouldn't be good for business." Winking at him, she set a plateful of food before him along with some fat-handled eating utensils she said were designed especially for Pokémon.

He found himself immediately liking this human.

After the last plate came out: "By the way, I did a little asking around. Nobody has any boats right now, but the word is going out. Maybe someone will show up later, but sorry I couldn't do better."

"Damn," Sally breathed after they thanked the waitress and she left them to eat.

"Guess we'll have to try somewhere else," his human self replied.

If it was just him, he could swim it. Maybe even with Blaze who could ride on his back. But there was no way he could swim everyone to an island several days away by swimming. And they might not have days anyway. "Any lapras around?" he asked quietly, mindful of the humans scattered around at other tables.

"We'd need more than one with all our stuff," Blaze commented between mouthfuls.

"Lapras are rare around here," Chris answered.

"What would be our chances?" Sally asked.

Chris popped a piece of grilled shrimp in his mouth before answering. "Slim to none. And Slim just left town."

Blaze chuckled.

"Have anything original?" his human self asked, though his mouth seemed to curl slightly in amusement despite his tone.

But Leo was watching Sally. The slight move of her mouth in mirth triggered something… Even though her hair was currently bleached blonde, her expression in the setting of a restaurant seemed very similar to…

_ He put the fork into her mouth, paying close attention as she closed her lips over the piece of steak._

_ "Mm," she voiced, smiling._

_ "What did I tell you. Greatest steak in the world." But there was a different look in her green eyes this evening; wet, sincere…_

_ She slowed her chewing, swallowed, hesitated. "Maybe, after here, we could go to your place…"_

_ On an uncontrollable impulse, he leaned forward and kissed her. She embraced him…_

"Leo!"

Rudely brought back to the present, there was a purple hand waving in front of his face. "Huh? What?"

Blaze pointed to the plate of shrimp that was just out of his reach.

After handing his partner the plate, he focused back on Sally, though not in any obvious way. But he found something else now that warranted staring. Almost in the same line of sight, a younger looking black-haired woman was sitting a couple tables away, looking at them across the empty one between them. Although he hadn't noticed it when he first saw her a while ago, she now seemed to be paying quite a bit of attention to them he realized. Eventually she looked down to her own food after he stared back for a good moment, only to be watching them again moments later. It continued right up to the point when they paid the waitress, who wished them luck, before she left a few minutes ahead of them.

He wasn't sure if it meant anything or not, but made a mental note of her.

"So, now what?" Chris asking as they stood under one of the lights in front of the building, the very last vestiges of twilight disappearing behind the skyline of the town. Somewhere, a horn sounded in the distance while a rotating light flashed it's beam overhead.

His human self sighed. "Maybe we could just walk around the docks and ask."

"It'd have to be first thing tomorrow; right now I guess we're going to have to find a hotel somewhere," Sally pointed out.

"We could just bunk at the Pokécenter," Chris suggested. "It's not that far away. And I am a trainer after all, so I could get us a room."

"Good idea," Sally replied, and they started for the truck some distance away through the now mostly-empty parking lot.

They didn't get very far before a young woman stepped from behind a small, rather old and rusty-looking truck. "Hey! I heard you're looking to hire a boat."

She was barely visible in the dim light, well outside of the circle of light from any parking-lot or street light, but Leo recognized her instantly. "That's her," Leo said to Blaze in Poké speak.

"Who?" Blaze asked.

"She was a couple tables from us. She'd been watching us for a while before leaving shortly before we did." Looking around, he didn't see anyone else with her; unless there was someone behind the truck, she was alone.

"That's right," his human self answered the woman. "You have one?"

"Yes. But if you want to hire me, you'll have to win a battle against me first."

The humans glanced at each other. "Money's not enough?" Sally asked.

"Let's say it's just a little prequalification test," the woman answered with a sweet, but expectant smile. "If you win, then of course you'll have to pay me for the hire. And the only Pokémon you can use is your swampert there."

Leo stared back in surprise.

"Why you?" Blaze asked, sounding equally surprised.

"_My swampert?_" Chris replied. "But…"

"It is able to battle, isn't it? I see that cast on it's arm."

"Well…I don't…"

"It's broke," Sally pointed out. More to Chris: "Though it's mostly healed by now, right?"

Getting close behind Chris and his other self, "It can come off tomorrow, I think," Leo whispered. "I can fight her if it means getting a boat." Glancing at their potential hire, he noticed her head cocked.

"You sure about this?" his human self asked.

He nodded. Actually he wasn't, but there didn't seem much choice.

His other self grimaced, but Chris nodded to him. To the woman: "Alright, I don't know why we have to battle to get a boat ride, but if you agree to take us wherever we want no questions asked, then fine."

"Great!" She motioned them over to deserted area of the parking lot that had bare dirt and a bit of gravel but more light from a close-by street light. "By the way, your swampert is rather different."

"How's that?" Chris asked as they all walked to the area the women indicated.

"It's smaller than any swampert I've seen, and it walks more upright. Quite unusual."

Leo felt his partner's eyes on him.

"You sound like you know swamperts," his human self returned.

Now in the light, Leo could see all her features easily again…and the broad smile she was now wearing. "You could say that." Taking a Pokéball off her belt, she released it's inhabitant in front of her. At the end of the red beam, it's form quickly expanded into…

Leo almost couldn't believe his eyes! "A swampert?"

"Ah!" Blaze exclaimed. "And it's a female! And…"

"It's…bigger than you, Leo!" Chris stammered. "Ah…you think you can handle it?"

"S…sure. And it's a she," he informed quietly, feeling anything but sure and noticing again the women furrowing her brow.

"Hey, is that swampert _talking?_"

Glancing between Chris, Sally and his human self, he wondered if he just shouldn't break the news. Not getting any clear direction: "Yes, I can talk!"

The woman gasped audibly, her mouth hanging open for a good moment. "Well…oh, wow! You really are _different!_ I've never heard of a Pokémon who could speak! I mean, I thought I heard you in there, but thought I was just hearing things. This is…incredible…I mean…"

Like her trainer, the other swampert was staring back, mouth open and standing just a little more upright from her hunched position.

Maybe if the fact of him talking distracted her a little, it might give him an edge against the decidedly stronger swampert opposite him… "Let's go, then!" he shouted. In which case, the quicker the better.

"Oh…right. The battle." She went closer to her swampert and he could hear her giving instructions, not that she was particularly quiet about it: "Alright Lonny, try not to hit it's left arm, but we're otherwise going to do what it takes to win as always, alright?" The swampert nodded her understanding.

"I really don't know what to tell you," Chris said in his own pre-battle talk, putting a hand on his back in partly kneeling beside him. "Your attacks aren't going to be particularly effective against it…_her_. But the same goes for her. I think it's going to come down to pure strength and endurance."

"Probably," Leo replied. If size was any indication, it was obvious who had more of _that._

"But being smaller, maybe you can move faster. I think that's what we're going to have to depend on."

_Just like when Blaze took on the blastoise_, he thought.

"Hey," Sally said in coming around to stand before him, putting her hands on the sides his face. "I know you can win. You're the smartest Pokémon I ever met. You have to be, being Leo and all." She gave a quick smile and a wink, directing some of it to his human self.

"If she doesn't pound my left arm, I have a chance," hoping it truly was healed enough to take any pounding. Feeling his heart beating a lot faster, he stepped out into the cleared space between the two sides. He'd never fought another swampert before, and for the first time in a while, he truly didn't know what tactic to use. If it came down to strength…

Being just a little closer to her now, his size disadvantage became all the more obvious; he was slightly taller, but only because he was standing straighter whereas she was leaning forward, her hands only a foot off the ground.

Was that how swamperts usually stood? It was a strange sight; standing upright just felt natural to him, if slightly unbalanced. Perhaps what had been left of his human traits weren't quite as buried as he had thought.

The woman trainer leaned forward, seemingly ready to give a command and Leo felt his heart jump. He was damned nervous about it with so much at stake, not to mention that it was going to be like fighting himself! Chris was right: he was going to have to stay out of her reach and try and wear her down.

"Alright Lonny, charge and pound!"

He found himself leaping out of the way almost immediately, Chris only belatedly calling out a similar pound attack. It was an impossible maneuver - he could either hit or leap out of the way, but not both. Judging by how much force the other swampert appeared to thrust through the space he just vacated, he was glad to have chosen the later option!

The next several moves pretty much mirrored the first, the other trainer keeping her swampert on constant attack, not giving him time to gain any kind of distance to really plant himself for an counterattack. Then he saw the slight opening just as Chris called the move; turning and mounting the attack, it was met by a forearm and a new thrust from her other arm. Diving just in time, her fist managed to only graze his side and back, but his rear fin took some of it, producing a brief sharp pain…

Sally shrieked.

Chris was shouting "Water pulse!" even before he hit the ground, and with the rotating momentum from his fin being hit, got his head turned around enough to release the high-velocity water from his mouth straight into her face…right as she was preparing another punch. As expected, it wasn't too effective…

"Get away!"

…but bought him the few seconds needed to do what Chris was yelling urgently. He retreated all the way to just in front of the blonde-haired trainer. "She's really _strong!_" he told him without turning his head or taking his eyes off her.

Standing halfway between him and her trainer, the female swampert was staring directly at him, panting. "Stay there, Lonny!" her trainer told her, and she nodded.

"Rest time," Chris mumbled. "Leo, get an attack in from behind, quick!"

Focusing, he looked for a way to land a hit without being leveled himself. If he could get around her fast enough… He started to charge, then veered off to one side before coming around behind her…only to meet her face on as she rotated around. Continuing to move around her, she just kept rotating in keeping up, even as he went as fast as he could to the point of risking using his left arm on the ground in an all-fours effort. It was simply no good; turning around in one spot didn't require as much speed as having to move in a circle and there was just no way he could get around her fast enough!

Giving up, he stopped a good distance from her while starting to pant himself even as she seemed to be recovering.

"Pound!"

The command surprised him; he assumed he would get a few seconds to rest, but the woman trainer shouted just as he stopped and her swampert was on top of him before he could get moving again!

"Dodge!"

Chris's command came after the fact. Instinctively, he thrust his own fist up as he tried dodging below her swinging arm. Too late he realized it was a feint - the real thrust was coming from below, and her three-fingered blue fist connected solidly with his stomach. But using both her arms in the attack meant she had no defense to block _his_ fist as it connected with _her_ stomach.

Almost surreally, he started analyzing the attack on his way down. Although they both hit each other with the same attack, the difference in their strengths was very apparent: she was gasping with a hand over her stomach but remained standing; he was laying on his, flat on the ground and unable to move or breathe. It was nearly as crippling as being hit with a thunderbolt and hurt even more!

It must had been a good moment before he became aware of what was happening again, for Chris was shouting "Get up!" as he watched the female's feet moving in front of him. Getting up was futile; a hand with a lot of weight behind it was on his back, pinning him.

"Leo!" Blaze's voice yelled. "Get away from her!"

"Pound and end it!" he heard the woman trainer shout.

He jerked with all his might to one side to avoid what was coming, almost sliding out from under her hand, but only felt her grabbing his rear fin instead, inducing another sharp pain and stopping him cold.

"Don't move and it won't hurt as much…sweetie," the other swampert said, speaking for the first time.

He felt sorry, not for himself, but that he was letting everyone down. They needed that boat; loosing wasn't an option! Yet he was about a second from being pounded right into the ground (along with needing a Pokécenter)…and the little twist of her large three-toed foot in front of him foretold she was already rearing back for it…

Not even finishing the thought, he shot out his arm, grabbing her foot and pulling it toward him and up with all his might in one quick, almighty jerk!

The female screeched as she nearly landed on her rear fin, relieving the pressure on his own. Leaping up and operating on pure heart-pounding adrenaline, he shot two water pulses straight into her, finishing with a (weak) pound into her side before leaping back. It was all he had time for before she was up again and charging! Still fighting the pain in his stomach, he was just able to dodge her charge out of fear of even worse pain.

After being able to gain a bit of distance, he found himself moving around the edges of the makeshift field, making sure he stayed as far away from her as possible. The stomach hit was still making him feel weak; he could only hope his hit against her was doing the same, but from the enraged look on her face, he pinned little hope on that. He bought time in escaping her, but how much?

Glancing Chris's way, he hoped the human had some way they could still get out of this with a win. The trainer instead looked as frustrated as he felt in upturning his hands, and he was starting to better realize what Blaze had gone through when he fought the blastoise.

What was the phrase…like trying to take out a golem with a pebble?

The female swampert continued following him around the perimeter as if stalking him, neither trainer given any commands for several moments.

"Maybe you should give up," the woman trainer told him as he walked in front of her. "Lonny is as strong as swamperts come!" the pride in her voice unmistakable.

Sparing her only a subtle glance in not daring to take his eyes off his adversary, "I've beaten tougher opponents," he shot back. Dialga came to mind, though he sounded more certain then he felt.

"Still so incredible you can talk. Oh, I wish you were mine…" She trailed off for a second before: "OK Lonny, just charge and keep after it!"

"Leo, dodge her!" Chris countered.

Didn't have to tell him twice! Focusing on the other swampert as she came barreling straight at him, he tensed his legs. Though fatigued, he prepared to leapt out of her way, deliberately not leaning in either direction in order to keep her guessing as to which way he would go, but he didn't expect the woman trainer's water pulse command! Catching him square in the chest and face, the quick moving wall of water blinded him for an instant, and although the hit from it wasn't that bad, what came after hit like a wall. Before he could even figure out which way he was being knocked, he was back on the ground and a huge, painful weight was placing itself on top of him with what felt like not just a single hand this time…and no feet in sight! Even the gravel was digging into his skin painfully!

"Invigorating fight," the female swampert said from above. "But I am the strongest swampert! Now don't you move…and I'll make it quick."

As if he could! With obviously her entire weight on him and as tired as he was, he couldn't get close to enough leverage to even try and get up, especially with fearing putting full weight on his left arm. And a lot of that weight was centered on his already hurting stomach, too! He thought for sure he was going to lose his dinner…

"Leo, wiggle free!" Blaze shouted at what sounded like the top of his lungs while Sally sounded like she was lecturing Chris about when to give up…as in right now.

His partner had to be kidding! It was obvious there was no way the swampert was going to give him an opportunity to up get this time and as soon as the woman trainer gave the command, it was going to be over for him. The only lingering question was exactly where she was going to hit to knock him out. No matter where, it was going to hurt for certain with her strength!

Yet seconds passed without any command coming. Instead, he heard what he thought was a quickly approaching wheeled vehicle, lights from presumably the headlights flashing across the field, then a door opening and slamming shut while the engine continued running…

"Christina! What thee hell do 'ya think you're doing?" yelled a human male voice with a different accent from any he'd heard before.

He felt the female swampert starting to move on top of him, as if looking around, while putting a firm hand on his head between his fins and keeping his head plastered against the ground. He sure hoped she wasn't inclined to finish the job even without a command.

"Dad! Ah…how'd you get here so quick?"

"I was already almost back from the machine shop. Are these the people you were talking about on the phone who wanted to hire us?"

"Yes, but they had a swampert…I'm sorry, I couldn't resist testing Lonny against it. She's winning, you know."

"Daughter, you don't gain customers by _beating up_ on their Pokémon! For cripes sakes Lonny, get off that poor thing!"

From seemingly right over his head, the female swampert let out a frustrated sigh before moving off his back. Suddenly, he discovered he could breath again and slowly, stiffly, _painfully_, got himself up. Blaze came bounding immediately to his side, giving the female a good view of his mouthful of sharp teeth with a hiss before leading him back to Chris, Sally and his human self. A glance backward showed the female swampert smiling curiously.

"Next time, sweetie," she said.

The other human proved to be an older man with a grey beard and hair, wearing what looked like thick, faded blue-plaid clothes that were a bit past their prime. He was already in front of the others by the time he and Blaze rejoined the group.

"Sorry about my daughter there, folks. She's really proud of her swampert and takes any chance she can get to show her off. Especially the very rare occasion when there's another swampert."

"You mean, we _didn't_ have to battle to hire you?" Chris asked.

The man grimaced, giving a backward glare to his daughter. "No." Facing Leo: "You alright? You look a little on the small side for a swampert, though."

"By the way dad, it can _talk!_" Christina shouted as she approached with Lonny.

"Huh?"

"I'll live, I think," Leo replied, thankful for the man's intervention. Indeed, he was saved literally just in time. If he'd taken that last hit from the monstrosity coming up behind him, the human wouldn't be asking if he was alright, but more like if he was going live long enough to make it to the hospital.

"Huh?" the old man asked again, this time more wide-eyed.

"Yes, he can talk," his human self said. "And we really do need to hire a boat."

* * *

Leo plunged his head thankfully into the large, low tub of cool water provided, drinking some while letting his head and fins soak, his gills absorbing the dissolved air in the water. It was refreshing…and sorely needed after the punishment he'd taken earlier. The older human had eventually introduced himself as Harry before insisting they come to his dock house at the port...after he and his daughter had gotten over the fact he could speak, that was.

Although his ears were underwater, he could still hear the humans talking around the table nearby, with his human self and Sally going over the details of where they all needed to go.

"To _that_ island, eh?" Harry asked. "That'd be Fore-Nine island. I believe it's private now, though I haven't really been near there in ages."

"It's owned by Derganio Corporation," Sally's voice replied.

"Ah. You know, now that you pointed that place out, I heard a rumor once there was some kind of accident there a few years ago. Never found much out about it, but still piques my interest."

"Really?" Sally's voice implying extreme interest.

Leo started paying more attention himself.

"So you're with Derganio Corp, then?" Harry continued. "They're a pretty big company."

"Actually, they're the sponsor of a project we're doing at the University of Pinnacle Valley," his human self answered.

"Then you're with the University?"

"We are. Well, Chris here isn't. But we just need transport to and from that island."

Harry cleared his throat. "And…uh, they aren't taking you? I mean Derganio Corporation or the University? Not be sounding like I'm refusing a job or anything."

Catching sight of a shadow cast through the water, Leo looked up at the distorted form moving over it. It wasn't long before a large blue face with green gills joined his underneath the surface from the other side of the tub. _Her_ face was the last thing he wanted to see for a while; his stomach was still hurting!

"Well…" Sally fell silent for a moment.

His human self spoke next: "They deserve to know the truth. It could be dangerous, after all."

"What kind of danger?" Christina's voice asked, suddenly sounding quite interested.

"Well, they don't exactly want us there, because they think we're going to try and stop them from doing something that could destroy the world."

"Destroy the world?" Harry exclaimed with a cough. "What thee hell would that be?"

"Shouldn't you tell the police or someone then?" Christina added.

"You people are some of those anti-corporate protesters, are you?"

The female swampert was staring straight at him from the couple of feet or so that separated them. She was smiling all of the sudden…

It wasn't menacing, but rather…intense, like a hunter to it's prey. He felt his heart skip a beat, her look making him more nervous by the second.

Sally sighed. "No! They're working on a project to transport things and people instantaneously, from one location to another, by moving them through a different dimension. But we think there's a strong possibility they won't be able to control it, and that wouldn't be a good thing to say the least."

"Just how do you know all this?" Christina asked.

"Because we were working on exactly the same kind of project at the University," his human self answered. "Only Derganio took it over when we decided to halt the project for a while, because we discovered what could happen if we weren't absolutely sure about what we were doing."

"Exactly," Sally added. "So we need to go there and convince them to stop what their doing. But there isn't much time. We think they're going to try and use it for the first time any day now."

"I…see." There was obvious doubt in the old man's voice.

Sally continued: "Maybe…we need to tell him the whole story, right from the beginning."

"That'll take a while," Chris commented.

"Only if both of them agree not to tell anyone else," his human self replied. "This can't become public knowledge."

After a bit more verbal exchange between Sally, his human self, the old man and his daughter, the later two eventually agreed to keep what they heard to themselves.

"You say it's a long story?" Harry asked. "Then maybe I should get some coffee on; we'll probably want the caffeine."

Leo wasn't sure what "caffeine" was, but something else was demanding his attention. The female swampert was inching closer, keeping the same intense stare about her. A pair of shadows moved over the water, one on each side, and soon he felt two large, three-fingered hands touching his head fins…

"Hey Leo, I think we're going to need you here to…"

He was already jerking his head out of the water even before Chris asked.

* * *

Leo Hanson watched Harry set his coffee cup down, mostly missing the coaster and nearly tipping it. His daughter, with her short black hair and grey eyes, stared back unmoving as she had for the last good while.

"So, that's everything that's happened up to now," Sally finished, capping the end of their hour-long tale. Through the open windows, crickets were loud around them, interrupted only by wingulls and the very occasional larger ocean wave hitting the nearby shore and pier.

"Um…interesting story," Harry eventually said, running his fingers through his grey beard. "I'd say you people were nuts, but I can't imagine anyone making _all_ of that up. It's hard to get my net around it all, though."

Leo took the last sip of his own coffee. "Believe me, I know what you mean."

"You…_really_ were a human?"

His Pokémon counterpart nodded. "As sure as you are human now."

"And you were…_him?_"

Another nod, acknowledging the man's pointing finger with his own nod.

"Wow…like I said before, I thought it was strange how you walked so upright…more like a human than a swampert," Christina finally said, the first words she'd spoken since his Pokémon counterpart first revealed who he used to be.

He also noticed Christina's swampert, Lonny, was continuing to make frequent glances between him and his Pokémon counterpart, eventually cocking her head while fixing intensely on his counterpart with a whimsical expression. He wasn't sure what to make of that other than disbelief. Or was it something else?

"Time travel, dimensional portals, _Dimensional Screams_. And Dialga, Palkia, Celebi…" Harry mused, raising his eyebrows for the umpteenth time before finally shaking his head. "I don't know…"

"Oh!" Leo said, realizing they'd forgotten something quite important.

By Sally's and Chris's looks, they realized the same thing at the same time.

"Be right back," Sally said before jumping up and rushing out of the large shop-like room and outside.

"Where's she going?" Christina asked, jabbing her thumb toward the door.

"You'll see," he answered. It wasn't exactly accurate to say they had forgotten about them, at least at first. But they had decided on the way over to the private docks to keep Celebi hidden and Grovyle with her. Of course, now that Harry and Christina were told the story, there was no reason keeping the little time-traveling pixie-like Pokémon hidden from them any longer.

"Huh. Well, how about some more coffee?" the old sailor asked. "I know I can use more after all that!"

Leo let the older man refill his cup as did Chris, and he poured the last in Sally's cup just as she came back in, Grovyle and Celebi in tow.

Christina's mouth fell open, her face mirroring her father's. "Is…that…a…"

"This is Grovyle and Celebi," Leo Hanson told them, grinning. As if they weren't already surprised enough for one evening. "Of course, Celebi traveled with Blaze and my counterpart from the Poké world."

Celebi gave some kind of greeting in her high-pitched voice as she floated over the table to hover before the father and daughter.

"Swampert? Swerp rout grr," Lonny said in moving to stand behind them, her face sandwiched between theirs.

"Reeabee rame!"

Leo wondered what they were saying as his counterpart, Blaze and Grovyle joined in with a few words each in Poké speech.

Harry was again shaking his head. "I suppose you're going to summon up Dialga himself next, aren't you folks?"

Sally slowly sighed. "We don't know what happened to him or Palkia."

"Oh, sorry, that's right. Made to disappear by that…Kol, you claim?"

Floating in front of the man's face, Celebi was seemingly screaming something.

"She says that's what she saw," his Pokémon counterpart said. "She isn't lying."

"Ok ok!" Though Harry still scratched his beard.

"So, will you transport us to that island?" Leo asked after Harry and Christina spent a few more moments marveling over Celebi.

The two exchanged glances before Harry took in a deep breath, like someone making a huge decision. "Won't be cheap, but I'm feeling inclined to believe…at least most of what you folks say, so I'll cut you a break. Especially if the world is at stake. And…in light of what my daughter made you go through."

She cuffed his shoulder when he started letting out a hearty chuckle.


	16. Chapter 16: Journeys

**Chapter 16: Journeys**

"I think she likes you," Blaze whispered, sounding half-asleep as they lay next to each other on the floor.

Leo shifted a little to get more comfortable on the blanket, the thick layer of fuzzy cloth not quite adequate against the cold, hard floor of the shop. It had been too late to go to the Pokécenter for a room, but the human Harry had graciously offered them some space in his boat shop. Thankfully they had camping gear with them.

"She's not my type," whispering back after a moment, hoping she didn't hear him. In fact, he feared her. He risked a glance across the room to the door leading into the living quarters. Problem was, she hadn't gone through it when their two hosts retired for the night, but was staying in the shop, also laying on the floor on the other side of the room.

She seemed to sense his gaze, quickly turning to look right back at him.

In the dim light shining through the windows, he could just see that same intense stare she had given him in the tub. Why didn't the human Christina put her back in her Pokéball? he wondered before feeling a nudge in his side opposite Blaze.

"You should go over there," Grovyle whispered.

At least Celebi was sleeping…

Turning away and closing his eyes, he hoped to shut it all out. "She beat me like a punching bag!" he whispered back. "I'm still sore from it." And not just physically; there was a certain amount of pride he felt he lost too. It might had been a different outcome if he was her size… Certainly, Pokémon of the same species had slight variations between individuals, but the size difference between him and her was greater than just "slight", and from what both Harry and daughter claimed, she was the one who was of proper size. That meant he was undersized for some reason. And walked more like a human…

Was that it? That he had been a human somehow influenced not just his size but how he walked? Now that he thought more about it in this new light, he was about as tall as his human self up to the top of his head fins when standing fully upright, and he guessed maybe weighed about the same. Lonny, on the other hand, was at least a foot or more taller than him, if she ever stood up straight so he could find out for certain.

"She's coming over here," Grovyle suddenly warned with an annoyed sigh.

Blaze groaned. "She ever hear of sleep?"

His heart jumped and he started dreading what she wanted, but knowing he was going to have to deal with her nonetheless. Sighing himself, he finally turned forward again, opening his eyes after he sensed her settle in front of him. She was laying head-first to him, but had it propped up by her hands, one on either side of her wide chin.

"You really used to be a human?" she asked inquisitively and in her somewhat lower voice that Leo figured came from her larger size.

"I used to be Leo Hanson," he answered. "I changed in a different timeline that no longer exists, as we said in the story."

She appeared to nod. "Well, you do walk kinda like one. Maybe that's why you aren't like any other swampert I've met. I find you interesting. Too bad I didn't get the chance to knock you out…"

"Hey!" Blaze hissed. "You had already won! There was no need for that!"

"Hush, pipsqueak," she said no longer in a soothing tone, as someone does when shooing away a fly.

"Don't tell _me_ to hush!" Blaze growled back.

"Or what? I'll just sit on you."

The whites of Blaze's teeth were in full view as he starting getting himself up.

"Come on Blaze, take it easy," Leo said, trying to calm him also with an hand on his back, but narrowing his eyes at Lonny.

She at once seemed to soften. "I was _going to say_: it was too bad I didn't knock you out because I wanted to carry you somewhere." Now smiling and much more quietly: "I know a beautiful spot out on the beach nearby."

For some reason, her words felt like they should hold some special meaning… Feeling Grovyle suddenly tense next to him, "What?"

From his back, Grovyle stared back, wide-eyed, before sitting up and looking over his back. "Blaze, we should go somewhere for a while."

"Don't you dare," Leo insisted, somewhat afraid of being left alone with her. Although, he was beginning to suspect what her words meant… More than suspect.

Grovyle was looking uncomfortable all of the sudden as he started moving his two-fingered hands through his leaf blades.

"Why?" Blaze asked him, raising himself up enough glance between Lonny and Grovyle.

Leo hoped his expression conveyed the same question without him having to ask. Just for confirmation.

Lonny was smirking. "Maybe you should tell them green boy, since you seem to be the only one who gets the obvious."

The green skinned Pokémon glared at her momentarily. "Swamperts make nests on beaches," he finally said. "You can figure out the rest. And it feels strange I have to tell you, Leo."

Leo faced her again, feeling sweat starting to form on his skin. It was suddenly very hot inside the shop… "You…uh, sure are…"

Reaching a hand over, she brushed the side of one of his head fins.

"…_bold_."

"Sweetie, when you've been through as much as I have, you learn to take what you want when you can and not be shy about it. Besides, you're so small and cute." Turning her smirk into a broad smile on her wide blue face, her light green eyes became very insistent.

"I'm, ah…not _that_ small," Leo stammered, fighting his pounding heart that was threatening to make him pass out. How the heck was he going to tell her he felt no interest in her whatsoever…and live? In a passing thought, he wondered if it was because of his human traits and memories that he felt no attraction to her. Or maybe it was her aggressive and intimidating manner. Or the fact she really beat him around pretty good in the battle. Or all three. Well, there was a fourth reason…

Looking for support, a glance to his partner showed him rather wide-eyed and stunned…with the deepest shade of red he'd ever wore on his face, obvious even in the dim light. On the other side of him, Grovyle was busy looking at something in the opposite direction….while slowly slinking away.

"Small enough that you're not getting away…_easily_," the female swampert answered. Her voice was non-threatening enough, but her eyes were like the hunter about to launch the killing strike. "It's been a _long_ time since I've seen another swampert; Christina doesn't let me wonder around very much."

Maybe it would have been better if she _had_ put him in the hospital…

* * *

Leo Hanson woke, staring at the reflected light on the ceiling coming off the water and through the windows from the sunrise. Although he still felt tired, Sally and Chris appeared to be elsewhere already and he probably needed to be up too. Alone, save for Blaze and his Pokémon counterpart still sleeping on the floor, he quickly changed himself into something clean and left the shop for the kitchen, where instantly the smells of good things hit him.

"You slept late," Sally said in a quick greeting from the table where she was sitting alone, though looking about to get up.

Grimacing before a yawn, "The Pokémon kept talking last night; woke me up a couple times."

"Huh, I didn't hear anything. Guess I'm a sound sleeper."

"Of course, _they're_ still sleeping," Leo continued. "Or at least Leo and Blaze are." After looking around for a second, "Where's Grovyle?"

"He and Lonny are on the dock helping load our stuff from the truck. Harry, Christina and Chris are getting the boat ready. I'm about to go out there myself and help. There's some breakfast left here, still hot. Harry said we can just help ourselves to whatever."

"You should've woke me up," Leo protested, feeling suddenly guilty he wasn't doing his part.

Sally returned a shrug before opening the outside door to the dock. "Don't worry about it; the stuff from the truck isn't that much. And I thought you needed the rest anyway…sweetie." And she was out the door while flashing a quick smile and a wink.

Well, it'd been a while since she last called him _that_. Definitely one of the 'normal' things he missed from the lab. Sitting down, he started picking a few of the quicker things to eat, forcing himself to down them as fast as he could while reflecting on what happened last night. It was…interesting; Leo and the other swampert were talking for a while, he was sure. Hm. Two swamperts, one male and one female.

Glancing to the door where both Blaze and his counterpart were still sleeping, he wondered. Late night indeed…perhaps.

Too bad he as a human was still looking for someone. Well, not that he'd been looking all that hard – he still valued his independence - but at least one of them perhaps found someone.

Grinning briefly to himself, he crunched into the last slice of toast before thinking about what lay ahead. Beyond getting to the island, he really didn't know what they were going to do exactly once they got there. For that matter, he didn't even know what awaited them there.

At least there was little doubt about where they needed to go. From the rumor Harry had mentioned about an accident occurring there a few years ago, it was easy to assume the island was the sight of the previous gate project he and his counterpart had the vision about. Certainly what they had seen in that vision could qualify as an 'accident'. So, if Derganio had their first gate there, why not the second?

There yet was another unanswered question about that vision which he was still struggling to make sense of: why did he get such an feeling of fear? A feeling from one of the people who was there, or something else? In either case, it was making him feel…uneasy.

* * *

"Well, that should'a about do her," Harry announced in his unique accent from inside. "We're packed, fueled and ready to go. Just need to wait for Christina to lock everything up at the house."

Leo looked over their belongings, having just got on the boat a few minutes before after being woken by his human self. Blaze too. And he was still feeling tired; it'd been a long, uncomfortable night. Lonny looked energetic enough, noting while dispassionately watching her travel up the dock and back into the house after Christina. Almost like she had a spring to her lumbering gate.

He was the prey, and on the boat there going to be few places to hide from her.

Sally, Chris and his human self waited at the railing to one side of the two-deck boat, while Blaze, Grovyle and Celebi were milling around near him close to the door to what Harry called the 'pilot house'.

It was yet another new experience for him, he reflected; he'd never been on a boat before. It was very different from a Lapras - the boat was bigger, roomier, and they could carry a lot of stuff on it, though Harry called it only a small boat. He could only wonder what a large one looked like! Still, it was showing many signs of being old and well-used, from the peeling paint to the numerous wear marks in the floor boards. Idly, he started playing at one of the peeling paint curls on the wall of the pilot house where a particularly deep gouge was.

"Don't worry, she's quite sound," Harry reassured, now standing in the doorway. "I give her a complete check-out every few months."

"Her?" Leo asked, perplexed. "It's alive?" How could that be? It didn't feel as such…

"Ha!" Harry shouted, nearly doubling over. "Well…in some ways she is, but in the end, she is just a machine, I guess. But don't you for an instant think she doesn't have a personality!"

Cocking his head, he was finding the old human just a little strange. From beside him, Blaze even commented as such. Eventually though, he looked out over the area in front of them where the barrier islands from the map were hazy in the distance, the vast sea beyond eventually disappearing below the horizon. Somewhere, out there, was where the disaster was going to happen if they didn't stop it. "This feels familiar."

His partner nodded, looking out over the same vast expanse. "Just like when we left on Lapras's back to head for the Hidden Land. It feels like a long time ago now."

Sighing, he remembered how he felt at that time. He hadn't been scared yet, since he hadn't yet learned what would happen to him if they succeeded in preventing the tower's collapse. Instead, he remembered feeling excitement and determination to do what it took to save the world.

This time around, it wasn't just him who could disappear. Looking to his infernape friend, he wondered if they truly had a chance if they had to face Kol. Dialga and Palkia…he considered them friends too. Were they still alive?

Taking a second to recognize it, he whipped around as the muffled female scream was still coming from the dock house…just before someone came crashing through the closed door amid flying wood and splinters! The human, wearing dark grey clothes, landed on his back on the house's porch as almost as quickly, Lonny was rushing out after him, letting out one loud angry-sounded roar with Christina right behind, looking both frightened and angry.

"What the…!" Harry yelled, rushing out from the pilot house.

Three more men in dark grey clothes quickly appeared from around the house, heading straight for the dock…

"Who are…" Sally started to say.

"That one, it's…_him!_" Chris shouted, pointing. "He's the blastoise trainer!"

Leo's felt his heart jumped as recognition of the human set in, who this time wasn't alone!

"Harry, get the engines started!" his human self shouted.

The old man was glancing between the approaching men and the house, looking briefly caught between two directions before moving for the dock. "Christina!"

Rearing up, Lonny was about to deal the one man a good smack, but the blastoise trainer released his Pokémon behind him and the large, blue tortoise-like beast began charging straight for her! The blastoise wasn't alone either: the three other men soon were releasing a machoke and a sceptile, both of whom instantly took to rushing down the long dock in lockstep with the humans…

Grovyle screeched, backing up from the boat's railing.

"Oh…_hell!_" Harry exclaimed, nearly skidding to a stop at the opening in the railing just before the dock.

"We have to go _now!_" Sally shouted while Chris released Pikachu, Elekid, Electabuzz and Wartortle onto the boat's deck.

Leo didn't wait to be asked, releasing a water pulse straight at the rushing group. The distance was a little long for it and the machoke easily took most of it, shielding the others from the worst. Which worked, as the others kept coming!

"Lonny's protecting her!" Sally was yelling behind him. "They're coming to stop _us!_ We've got to leave!"

Glancing behind, Leo saw the old man looking torn, but quickly retreated to the pilot house. At the house, Lonny was locked in a pitched battle with the blastoise…looking evenly matched.

"Electabuzz, thunderbolt!"

The yellow and black Pokémon did as Chris screamed, releasing the said charge at the humans and their Pokémon. Alertly, the group dived onto the wooden planks, avoiding most of the electrical energy and one of the humans even reached to his belt, releasing yet another Pokémon.

Leo couldn't believe it… Of course, it _had_ to be an electric type, and a electivire no less!

"This isn't good…" his human self said with fear as Sally backed up from the (metal) railing.

"I'll take him!" Electabuzz shouted, releasing another bolt at their new adversary, this time joined by bolts from Elekid and Pikachu. The bolts hit the new yellow and black Pokémon squarely…making him barely flinch!

With an initial jarring shake, the boat started vibrating, a huge, but thin cloud of smelly black smoke instantly rising from the rear.

"You people, stop!" the blastoise trainer yelled gruffly.

Leo forced out another water pulse, hoping to have some or any effect, only finding himself hitting the floor of the boat as a bolt brighter then anything he'd seen thundered through the space inches above him! Even his rear fin was left tingling painfully!

Springing up immediately, Blaze fired out a flamethrower, but it was too weakened by distance to have much effect. Instead, the sceptile came bounding over the others on the dock to race down what distance was left to the boat… Blaze tried again, only the quick green creature jumped over his attack, proving it was too fast for him to direct the fire to!

"We can't hold them off!" his human self shouted to the pilot house.

Through the engine smoke, Leo caught sight of Lonny giving the blastoise a solid whack, knocking him backward enough that she and Christina got by him to start running down the dock themselves. Letting out a primal, enraged scream, she got everyone's attention, briefly stopping the sceptile.

The engines below deck suddenly went from a low rumble to a loud roar, sending out a huge volume of thick, black smoke and the boat literally lurched forward away from the dock, sending everyone to the deck. For a moment, there was only engine noise and smoke blocking all view, and for just a second, Leo thought they were going to get away…just before a green leafy form came flying through the smoke, landing on the deck beside him!

Hissing, the sceptile tensed it's limbs in taking a quick look at everyone, it's large dark-green leafed tail glistening in the morning sun.

"Everyone attack!" Chris yelled.

The sceptile immediately proved itself strong and quick, jumping and avoiding nearly every attack and shrugging off those he didn't, while dealing out his own leaf-cutter and tail hit attacks. Even Grovyle took a hard hit to his head, clearly knocking him out.

Unable to see all of the action in facing the side, Leo kept still on the deck, fearing to add to the confusion or to draw attention from evolved form of grovyle. His heart pounding, he instead waited for a chance…and saw it coming as Blaze pushed their attacker closer with a flamethrower. Finally…the green clawed foot was planted right beside him…

Quick as a thunderbolt, he grabbed the foot with his good arm, yanking it up and toward him with all his strength. Even before the sceptile went flat on the deck, he leapt up and using his momentum and full weight on the way down, landed a punishing fist to the creature's stomach.

That _had_ to finish it, thinking as the green skinned Pokémon was left groaning and curled up. Then all at once, after only the merest of moments, he threw up his own clawed fist!

The blow came crashing against the side of his chin like a boulder, but his sudden movement provided a quick glimpse of the entire deck. Shock joined the pain: except for Blaze, all the other Pokémon were down! This sceptile, having been on board less than a minute, had already taken almost everyone out, including frail-looking Celebi! Even Chris didn't look untouched…

As his side hit the back railing, he felt instantly enraged!

Bracing his cast-covered arm against the top rail, he barely held himself back as Blaze took a hit himself from the still fighting sceptile. But with it's attention finally on his partner, he pushed himself off, covering the few feet before the sceptile could turn and dodge his fist. Refusing to give the creature any time to recover, he shot a water pulse in its face, following up with yet another rage-fueled punch straight to it's stomach as he let out a roar.

Backing up and trying to defend itself with arms in front, Leo instead grabbed them and leaping up, forced the Pokémon on his back while using his full weight as he landed on top. Several deck boards cracked; the sceptile rose his head up to screech once before finally laying still.

Was that it? Was that all it had? Picking himself up off the green Pokémon, panting…he was still seeing red…still wanting to punish the creature that had not only was trying to stop them, but had also nearly taken out all his friends! Raising his fist, he readied another punch…

"Leo! He's down!"

Barely hearing, he still stopped at Blaze's pained words.

More quietly: "You got him. He's down."

Looking to his partner, he found him on his hands and knees, panting and shaking as a good-sized bruise was forming on the side of his face.

"I'll live," he said quickly.

Around him, Sally, Chris and his human self were immediately attending to the other Pokémon.

"Hey, you get that thing?" Harry shouted out from the pilot house. "Then I'm going back!"

No sooner had he said it then there was what sounded like _something_ whizzing by at high speed, followed by the sound of a small explosion coming from the dock.

"They're shooting!" Sally screamed, pointing back.

Still in rage, he felt in no mood for anything else. Facing back to the dock, he noticed the men seemingly pointing small black things at them. The things flashed right before several more whizzes, more quick explosions, and a couple of whaps…

"Get down you two!" his human self yelled. "Those'll kill you!"

Another whizz and suddenly broken glass in the pilot house…

"Damn!" Harry yelled out.

Through the now shattered glass, Leo could see the old human yank at the wheel, lurching the boat hard to one side and sending everyone on the deck to the other side of it, only to do the opposite a few seconds later as the whizzes continued going by.

Bracing himself right next to Blaze at the railing, he watched three of men following them with whatever it was they were holding while behind the group, Lonny and Christina were still fighting with the remaining Pokémon and the fourth human. Eventually, she jumped into the water followed quickly by Lonny's head-first dive. The female swampert seemed to yank the young woman away from the dock before pulling her under as the human turned his weapon on them, only to quickly give up without doing anything.

Leo held tight to the railing as the boat continued in it's zigzagging course for several minutes, the whizzes slowly decreasing until there were no more; Harry finally stopped jerking the wheel around but kept them going at what felt like full speed.

His human self cursed loudly. "Derganio isn't playing around anymore!"

"Chris?"

Sally's strained voice got everyone's attention.

It took a few seconds for Leo to realize what had happened; when he did, he couldn't race to his human friend's side fast enough.

* * *

"Don't move!" Leo Hanson ordered the blonde-haired trainer, shaking after everything and now with fear for Chris. "Let us see it!"

"Reeabay!" Celebi said with obvious worry while doing several quick circles over them, covering her tiny mouth with her hands.

Chris grimaced, keeping his hands over his left lower leg and rocking back and forth, blood seeping through his hands and clothes and onto the deck. "God-damn, it hurts!" But he did slowly move his hands…a little.

"Side of the leg I think," Sally said, getting in closer to look as the engines went from full-roar to something less and reducing the shaking of the boat.

Harry was suddenly over them, first aid kit in hand. "One of you, take the wheel! Just keep us straight. I'll got some medical training."

Leo nodded to Sally and she raced into the pilot house, while he followed Harry's instructions to start cutting a slit down Chris's pants leg with the scissors suddenly in his hand.

The old man seemed confident, first getting the wound covered, then giving Chris pain killer before cleaning and stitching the small hole up, even getting his Pokémon counterpart something to do in holding the leg steady and having Blaze check on the other Pokémon. In wasn't long before the trainer was quickly patched by the old man's competent hands.

"You're lucky," Harry said after finishing. "Darned near just a scrape; bullet went in and out without hitting anything vital. But you'll be limp'n for a week or two."

Blaze said something to his counterpart, but no translation was needed as the other Pokémon were up and about already, though all looking a little worse for wear. Grovyle especially looked like he was going to be sporting a massive headache for a while.

"What do we do with that…_thing_?" his counterpart asked in obvious anger, pointing to the still unconscious sceptile near the rear of the boat.

With some shock, Leo realized he'd forgotten all about it and started looking around for an option before it woke up, but water completely surrounded them for at least several miles, the barrier islands now behind them. Unfortunately, that didn't change the facts. "It's too dangerous to leave on board."

"Got that right," Chris agreed from his back, head propped on his jacket. "I think it took a swipe at me, too. Look at these cuts in my jacket."

Harry nodded, putting things back in the first aid kit. "I certainly won't mess with tying it up, you know. It'd just cut through anything with those blades of it's."

"Just throw it in the water?" his counterpart asked, before shaking his head, seemingly reluctantly. "No, he'll drown unless he comes to."

Seeing the float ring on the side of the pilot house, he started debating whether to ask to use one for the Pokémon that nearly got them all, perhaps even to kill. The way it had been savagely attacking the other Pokémon, he wasn't so sure it wouldn't have… "Just might deserve drowning," he found himself muttering, before reminding himself Pokémon wouldn't become that way unless they were taught that…in most cases.

In the end, they watched the sceptile receding behind them, bobbing in the boat's wake within the white rescue ring and still fully knocked out. It probably needed a Pokécenter, but he didn't really care. It should be lucky to even still be alive after the last hit his counterpart gave it. Any human would have been seriously injured from something like that, if not worse.

Harry didn't watch beyond helping to give the creature the heave-ho overboard. Setting his face like stone with a few twitches, he slowly returned to the pilot house. It wasn't hard to figure out what he was thinking of. Or rather who.

Looking back past the rapidly receding sceptile and toward the now too-distant-to-see landmass they left, he hoped Christina was OK. But what could he say? This was, after all, his fault this episode was happening. Maybe just a simple apology…

Resolving to do that, he turned for the pilot house just as his swampert counterpart stepped in front of him.

"Let me talk to him."

* * *

Leo intended to tell the old man what he saw, but Sally beat him into the pilot house. She and Harry were already arguing by the sound of it…

"We can't go back!"

"Hey, my _daughter_ is back there! We're going back to some other dock, and…"

"Those men are probably waiting for us, and watching all the docks! We go back, we might not be able to leave again, and we'll never be able to stop Derganio! Use your radio to call the police and…"

"I already did that! And you people keep telling about this great big disaster! Well, what thee _hell_ is it, exactly? You tell me you know for a fact that it will end the world, or for a fact that it will happen! So far, you've shown have damned little proof of anything!"

"Dialga and Palkia…"

"Yeah, them too! I only got your word they even exist!"

Sally let out an exasperated sigh. "Going back isn't going to change anything; there isn't anything we're going to be able to do back there. They had _guns!_"

"Yeah, I kinda noticed that, lady."

"They were trying to stop us from going to that island. Maybe you should ask yourself why that is!"

"Maybe 'cause you're terrorists?"

Leo peeked in through the door's broken glass window; Sally was bracing her hands on her hips, looking furious.

"You listen here, mister! We're exactly who we said we are and we've leveled with you right from the beginning! If saving the world, or even just a small piece of it is just too much for you to handle, then just say so! We can go back and let whatever it is happen then and see if we somehow manage to survive it!"

The former red-head came storming out and slammed the door behind her, causing several of the remaining fragments of glass to fall out. Quickly retreating to the furthest corner of the deck, she leaned on the railing, looking out.

He felt torn between going to her and talking to Harry. Both needed comforting…

"That didn't sound good," Blaze said with a frown and a tail twitch as he moved beside him to also look in, his red and yellow mane puffing slightly.

"We can't turn around," Grovyle added, still rubbing his head.

"No," Leo sighed, answering both of them and wondering if he should give Harry some time before he went in. Although he hadn't yet turned the boat around, he feared the longer he waited, the greater the likelihood he would.

"You looked about to go in there anyway," Blaze continued.

"I was going to tell him I think Christina is safe."

"Then you saw what Lonny did too?"

Nodding, "I think I know how he feels, leaving…someone behind." He almost said "someone you love," but thought better of it. Instead, he opened the door and carefully avoided the broken glass on the floor in approaching Harry, where he was holding the boat's large spooked wheel at the front of the room with an apparently tight grip.

The human merely paid him a quick glance before resuming his steady stare straight ahead, his grey-bearded weathered face set in a rough frown. After a moment, "So, how's the amazing talking swampert?" It wasn't in the most friendly of tones, but considering he just got done shouting, he sounded calmer at least.

Leo gave a shrug, wondering how to answer in light of everything and how Harry was probably feeling. Rubbing one of his gills and the still-growing bump from the sceptile's blow right under it, "Could be worse. That sceptile was quite skilled."

Harry grunted.

"I…just wanted to tell you. As we were leaving the dock, I saw Christina and Lonny fighting. As those humans started attacking us with…" What were they called? "…guns, I think Lonny pushed Christina into the water, and she followed. Lonny then got Christina away from them. I think they're probably safe right now. You already know Lonny is very strong; she can protect Christina." He waited several moments for the old human to respond.

Finally in a half accusatory tone: "You lying to make me feel better?"

That response he hadn't anticipated and it stung. "I wouldn't say I saw it if I didn't!"

Huffing, he shook his head before sighing, "You never lie, huh?"

"Not often, and not now."

The old human didn't answer, only keeping his gaze on their heading.

Deciding to let him think about what he said - anything more at this point probably wouldn't help - he moved to leave before the man hesitantly reached his arm over, giving several good pats on his back.

"Thanks for telling me. It does make me feel a little better knowing that. And for a Pokémon, you act very human. Shouldn't be surprised, eh?"

Leo left him, finding he suddenly had his own thing to dwell on; just how human was he acting?

Back outside, Grovyle and Blaze were busy handing out oran berries to the other Pokémon in an effort to help them recover from the sceptile's punishing attacks. The satchels he and his partner brought with them from the Poké world were starting to look like something less then completely overstuffed, finally.

After checking on Chris and making sure he was relatively alright, he found himself at one of the railings, looking out over the sea. Blaze joined him after a few moments, his long red and yellow mane blowing around in the ocean breeze. With little lead-in, he decided to just ask his partner what was on his mind: "Am I acting more and more human?"

His friend whipped his head around, though it was several seconds before he actually answered, "I think you've changed, some. I'd be surprised if I haven't, too."

That wasn't quite what he meant… "It's just…as I remember more and more of who I used to be, I can't be sure anymore that I'm simply not just a human inside a Pokémon body. I think I'm losing myself and becoming what I was before." The prospect…scared him all of the sudden.

"Leo, you've always had what you were inside of you. Whether you act as a Pokémon or a human, I don't think it matters that much. It's still you no matter what, with the same heart. What makes you you won't change." Grinning, "Just so you don't stop being fun to be around."

He smiled, briefly heartened by his friend's words, but there was another consequence to remembering more of his former feelings and personality. He really hadn't thought it would reassert itself as much as it was, but the last few days was proving otherwise. And he was afraid to tell his friend, for it would directly contradict what he'd already told him.

Carefully, he looked past Blaze's white hair-framed red face to Sally, where she still stood on the opposite half of the deck.

* * *

"We followed them to the dock, but we were…slightly too late and weren't able to prevent them from leaving. We couldn't follow, either."

Kol felt his heart skip a beat at the news, gripping his cell phone just a little tighter. "They're heading here?"

"I presume so," Gerald's gruff voice answered. "We found a map in the dock house of the boat's owner. Your island is on it, circled."

"I…_see_." Grimacing, he started fighting to keep his anger in check. "Can you get a boat and intercept?"

"No sir. It seems there aren't any available. We'd have to get to the next port, and by the time we would get there…"

"Then stay out of sight, if you can manage that." Abruptly terminating the connection, the small phone started cracking as he slowly constricted his hand around it. Then wasting no further time, he walked quickly through the large, brightly lit concrete-walled room that was busy with activity from a dozen white-robed technicians. Tapping the shoulder of the lead, he forced him to extract half his body from the bowels of one of the large cooling units. "How long before everything is operational?"

"We should be ready for final testing late tomorrow, if all goes well. If that turns up nothing serious, maybe another day before we can generate the first portal."

"And if everyone works around the clock?"

The older man opened his mouth slightly. "Um…maybe tomorrow morning, assuming we don't make any mistakes from fatigue."

Thinking quickly, Kol wondered it if was worth the risk while still fighting to maintain control of himself. It wasn't so much his agents he was angry at, but himself. Taking a deep breath, he held it for several few seconds before slowly letting it out, making the lead technician back up a step. Loosing control would be…bad for productivity. "Inform our…guest expert, this gate must be fully operational in 18 hours or we risk never getting the chance to use it. And have someone keep the coffee hot."

Although he mostly trusted his team to make it happen, he fully intended to be as personally involved as was required. He did possess enough hard-won technical knowledge to be more than useful, though he still had some work to do on his own little project…

After taking a last look at the large ring-shaped device filling one end of the high-ceilinged room, he left, chiding himself for not paying more attention to the others. He fully believed the threat was Dialga and Palkia, and indeed they proved it when they showed up to destroy the University's dimensional gate; but he thought the threat was limited to them. Now it was becoming obvious the swampert and infernape who had arrived with the two dragons, along with their companions, may just be as much of a threat. If only he had dealt with them too when he had the chance, instead of thinking they were mere assistants to the two life-givers.

Yet it puzzled him: _how_ exactly were they were able to figure out there was a second gate and where it was? Presumably, they also figured out by now the University's gate was a merely a decoy to protect the real gate. Although he had the foresight to keep his agents trailing them just in case they decided to be trouble by, say, going to the police, he hadn't exactly anticipated them coming to the island. No doubt, his agents were caught off-guard and were perhaps lucky to have been in a position to attempt to stop them. Still, he expected them to be successful.

Since they weren't, his chance for failure went up from slight to something more than slight, though probably still low. Sitting back down at his terminal in his small office, he resolved to see the risk didn't increase any further once the 'guests' arrived - there were too many lives at stake.

* * *

Leo Hanson slowly closed the cover of his cell. The Professor was still not home. Even his wife expressed a little worry; she'd hadn't expected him to be gone so long. Unfortunately, he wasn't going to be able to make any further calls; with the phone only showing a single bar for signal strength, in another few minutes they'd be no more calls.

"How are you doing?" asking Chris as he kneeled by his side. Still sitting on the deck with his back against the side of the pilot house, the trainer at least looked a lot better than he did just a half hour ago.

"OK, I guess. Leg hurts, but I guess I'm lucky, huh?" Holding up one of his Pokéballs, he absorbed the last of his Pokémon who had been sticking close. "They should heal faster sleeping."

"There's some bunks below deck, if you want to lay on something more comfortable."

"I'll stay up here for a while," the young blonde-haired man replied with a shake of his head. "Have to say, there isn't a dull moment being around you, Sally, or those two Pokémon from the other planet, is there?"

Leo couldn't resist a chuckle. "Sure seems that way lately. I'm hoping at least the rest of this little cruise _will_ be dull and boring. We won't be at the island till late tonight."

"Lot's of time to rest." Chris closed his eyes and seemed to relax a little easier.

He gave him a pat on the shoulder before getting up. Time to see how Sally was doing; hopefully the little while since her argument with Harry was long enough for her to cool down.

"Grovyle?" Grovyle said, appearing from the other side of the pilot house.

"You're looking better already," telling his green friend who followed him to Sally.

"Guess we haven't turned around yet," she said as he leaned on the railing next to her.

"My counterpart had a little talk with him. Dunno what he said, but I think Harry's gonna still take us to the island."

Letting her head fall, she stared straight down into the water rushing past. "I feel so callous. His daughter could have been hurt or… I acted like I didn't care. But if the end of the world is at hand and we don't stop it, what's it going to matter?"

"That is true," replying matter-of-factly. "Honestly, I probably would have been a little less diplomatic."

"_I _was diplomatic?" looking up curiously.

"Oh yes. You could've told him if he took us back, we'd fail, the world would end, and it'd be all _his_ fault." Grinning, he hoped he was putting a somewhat humorous spin on it. "And it'd absolve us of any blame."

The former red head shook her head, sighing. "Nothing like turning the screws. If this disaster is of the world ending type, at least we'd die with clean conscious's either way."

"Rather not die at all." It really kind of hit him now that things were settling down, everything they'd been through the last twenty-four hours. Twice, they could've been killed! That was twice more than he'd ever experienced in his life. He was starting to seriously fear what was waiting for them ahead…

With the last of his adrenaline faded, he began shaking at the combination of no energy and fear.

"Grovyle?"

In the first instant, he didn't know what Grovyle was asking. Then he noticed it: the engines were changing pitch; they were slowing.

"What, are we going to turn around after all?" Sally exclaimed, whipping around toward the pilot house.

"Hey!" Harry yelled out through the broken glass of the door. "The bilge pumps are run'n for some reason, I'm going down for a look!"

"What are bilge pumps?" his Pokémon counterpart asked from the other side of the deck.

"Water pumps for getting water out of a ship," Leo explained, at once knowing the implication. Harry wasn't acting like it was normal or expected, either.

With the boat going a lot slower, Sally leaned well over the railing, apparently getting a look below at the hull. Over the next moment, she moved along the railing, doing the same thing every few feet.

"If there's water inside this boat, does that mean we could sink?"

Leo nodded to his counterpart. "If there's too much, yes. Hence, the bilge pumps for getting out any that gets inside."

Blaze started mimicking Sally on the other side of the boat as she finished at the corner of the railing, having gone along the entire twelve foot or so width of the rear end. "I think we have a problem…" she started to say before the engines cut out completely.

"We got a problem!" Harry yelled out from the pilot house.

* * *

Leo fought to keep steady as the gentle ocean waves were moving him up and down behind the boat, Celebi watching carefully above him. With a finger, he pushed the water-proof and hardening fiberglass putty back into place before trying again to smooth it with the spatula.

Being a water-type Pokémon and able to float and swim with little effort, he was the obvious choice for doing this work, not to mention he could speak in human language and understand technology. The instructions given by Harry were straightforward enough: using his large fingers to force the putty into the long, large crack wasn't too difficult; using the spatula to smooth it was much more problematic. Unfortunately, the putty had to be smoothed before the thick adhesive plastic tarp could be put over it, fully sealing the water-line crack and completing the hull repair. The small waves moving him up and down wasn't helping matters, right along with the whole action-reaction thing – he had nothing to push against except water!

Exasperated, he finally looked up to where everyone was leaning over the rear deck railing. "I can't use this thing!" holding up the spatula.

"Why not?" Harry asked, scratching his grey beard.

Waving his hand with his three blue fingers wrapped the around handle, the reason should have been obvious! "No thumbs! I can't hold it properly."

"Then one of us will have to do it," the old human replied, but more to Sally and his human self.

Leo looked to Blaze, who's hand just-so-happened to possess four fingers and a thumb like humans, but his partner was quickly shaking his head, his mane puffing a little even as the breeze played with it. "Come on, Blaze, you've been in water before. You even take showers."

"This is the ocean!" he said, eyes widening and gesturing around them.

He wasn't sure what the difference was, but then fire-types generally didn't like water (for good reason) and could be peculiar about it. From observing other fire-types, Blaze actually was one of the braver ones, so he wasn't about to push his friend too much.

"So who of you brought swimming clothes?" Sally asked, facing both his human self and Harry.

"Well, I don't have swimming shorts, but I'm used to getting wet," Harry replied.

His human self merely replied with a "I didn't think of that."

Chris, of course, was out of the question.

Grovyle held up one of this hands, but he only had two fingers, making him even less able to do the work. As for Celebi…well, she could float in air well enough, but her hands were simply too small for anything but the smallest of objects.

"Well, I'll do it then," Sally said, disappearing from his view. "I brought swimming clothes; never know when you'll need them crossing the ocean. Hope Leo doesn't mind me riding on his back…" Her voice trailed off as she apparently went inside.

"Looks like you'll be giving Sally a ride," his human self told him, facing down to him again.

Swimming around to the side where the gap in the railing was, Leo set the container of putty and spatula on the deck next to where the large pre-cut piece of plastic tarp was waiting. "All the putty is in place," he told the two remaining humans. "Just needs to be smoothed."

"I'm surprised two bullets re-cracked that entire section," Harry said after a moment while pacing. "When I bought this boat ten years ago, that area was damaged and the main spar cracked from a collision. I thought I patched her pretty good, but maybe the repair was just getting old. Then again, I didn't know I had to make it bullet proof, either," his tone holding slight annoyance.

His human self grimaced, turning away from the man. "Well, can only say we're sorry. None of us were thought we'd be getting shot at either. Will the patch hold?"

Frowning, "Those are some mean Joes after you, no doubt. I'd think about raising the fee to you lot, but right now I'd settle for just hearing from Christina that's she's alright. If she got hurt…"

Leo caught his stare, getting the full implication of the old man's expression.

Continuing: "Anyway, the patch will keep the water out so long as we're gentle since we can't fix the main spar out here. I don't think it'll take much pounding without flexing the fiberglass and reopening the crack, maybe even extending it. We'll have to take her easy the rest of the way, so it's going to take longer to get there."

"Ready!" Sally's voice called from behind everyone before she appeared at the side.

Leo's heart jumped at the sight of her, almost letting out a gasp. Once again he was glad his blue skin masked quite well any blush he might get!

Letting out a low whistle, Harry's eyebrow's went up. "Wow, a blonde beauty in a two-piece bikini! You sure know how to get an old man's heart going."

His human self was only smiling, though obviously trying not to.

"I'm a red head, actually," Sally told the boat owner as she sat on the edge of the deck and started lowering herself down, holding on to the ends of the railing. "Alright Leo the swampert, get yourself underneath me, unless you want me to sit on your fin."

Leo moved himself immediately; such a thing would be painful for both concerned! Positioning himself underneath her, he held as still as he could in the face of the minor ocean swells until she put a leg on either side of his upper back and settled down on top with a final "plop". He instantly realized was the first time he'd ever had anyone ride on him, and he could tell right away he wasn't used to it, nor was she. A lapras, he wasn't! Increasing his feeling of embarrassment was the fact that his first 'passenger' was Sally (in a bathing suit no less!); clumsily, he struggled to get them around to the rear of the boat, doing his best to ignore her tightening grip on his head fins.

As she started working on the patch, he sorely wished he could be watching. Instead, his mouth and nose were slightly below water with Sally's weight and were rubbing right up against the boat, so he had to rely on his gills to do the breathing and not move too much. It wasn't easy, given he had to paddle slightly to provide enough force to keep them against the boat. Fortunately it didn't take her long once she was handed the spatula, and soon the thick plastic tarp was stuck in place over the entire crack.

"Sure hope we don't get any more of those," Harry commented once they were both on deck again, "'cause that was the only hull repair kit I had. Now, we aren't going to have people shooting at us again once we get to that island, are we?"

"Well…uh, honestly, we have no idea," his human self said while Sally headed back below to dry off and change.

Leo noted several pairs of eyes following her, and he couldn't say that he wasn't sorry to see her go below either, though Blaze was staring at him curiously.

His human self continued after she disappeared: "I think we should be prepared for anything."

"That's what I was afraid of," Harry replied before plodding off after Sally into the pilot house, the engines soon firing up.

After some lunch, (Chris insisting he do the cooking just to make himself feel useful), Leo found himself at the front of the boat, or "bow" as Harry called it, Blaze beside him. The breeze from the movement of the boat was refreshing with the hot afternoon sun overhead beating down, although the view was only of endless ocean. Although his partner sat quietly with his feet and tail dangling over the edge of the deck, he sensed something was on his mind.

Which would make two of them. Actually, he had more than one thing on his own mind, not just Sally. "I wonder how much this really will be like Temporal Tower."

Blaze looked over, but only raised his brow ridge.

"That human Kol, could be a lot like battling Dialga. Only…" He didn't want to bring it up, but it was something they had to discuss. "Although I still don't remember it, Grovyle said he and I both knew if we succeeded in stopping Temporal Tower's collapse, that we'd change our own pasts and erase ourselves from existence, and that we both accepted that fate. What I'm saying Blaze, is we might be faced with that choice again…both of us this time. Obviously we don't know what will happen or what it will take to stop this disaster, but given that human made both Dialga and Palkia disappear, maybe we might be facing the same thing."

Closing his eyes, Blaze only rested his chin on the bar below the railing.

He started feeling uncomfortable with his friend's silence. "I'll understand if you're scared. I am."

Blaze stayed silent for a long moment longer before finally answering. "Actually, I've been thinking that same thing, ever since we knew we had go to this island. I didn't bring it up then; I was hoping there would be a way you wouldn't have to face something like that again, Leo. It isn't fair."

It actually surprised him the infernape had been thinking that far ahead of him! "Then, maybe it's just our fate to face disappearance every once in a while. Either that, or no one else is brave enough to do the job." At once, Blaze broke into laughter, which only got him going.

After a moment to calm down: "Haven't _we_ become the brave ones!" the infernape exclaimed.

Leo redoubled his laughing, remembering what his friend used to be like back in his chimchar days. "Yeah, we now face down death…as if it was… an everyday occurrence!" And after he was able to talk again: "Actually, it _is_ just about an everyday occurrence lately!"

Blaze was doubling over as much as the railing allowed, finally ending up with his back flat on the deck.

It took them a good minute to get themselves under control, during which he was grateful for the momentary release from the pressure they've been feeling. "Still, we should probably tell Grovyle what could happen. That also isn't fair. He was erased once and _not_ brought back. Now this version could face a similar fate."

"And the humans, including your other self," his partner added.

"Harry, Chris, my other self and…Sally." Which reminded him of the _other_ thing on his mind. "Blaze, there's something else I need to tell you." Now that he said that much, he had to plow through. It didn't increase his confidence any that it was the wise thing to do, considering how Blaze took it last time when he only _thought_ it was true.

Still laying on the deck, his friend cocked his head, his red and yellow mane spreading across the wooden boards a little.

"Memories…haven't been the only thing that have been coming back to me. But former feelings as well. One of those feelings is…" He wasn't sure if he should be embarrassed at admitting it or ashamed that he had told Blaze one thing several days ago, and now it was the opposite. "…that I guess I still really do love Sally. When I was human in the Future That No Longer Exists, we fell in love during the final months of the project. We were working so closely together, maybe it was inevitable, but we loved each other very much. It was hard when I had to leave, but there was no choice. Now that I'm back, and remembering all this…" He bowed his head, letting his shoulder sag at the obvious hopelessness of it. "Maybe love isn't something one forgets so easily."

Blaze stayed still on the deck, blinking for a good moment. "So…_that's_ why you gave Lonny the brush-off last night. Ha Ha."

Of all the things he thought his friend might say, that wasn't one of them! "I told her it didn't make sense to…" Go to the beach? Become attached? Make an egg? "…continue unless we could save the world first. I never said no…exactly."

"You didn't say 'yes' either."

"Look, I said she's not my type! She's too aggressive, and…"

"Sally." Blaze sat up, sighing. "I suspected you maybe still had more feelings toward her then you said. Especially earlier when she was on your back. You looked rather…" He shrugged. "…I don't know."

"Blaze, I'm sorry. I don't know what to say; I just didn't really realize all this before. As I recover more of who I used to be, things are coming back to me. I can't help it and I'm sorry. But my promise to you stands: I'm not going to leave your side. Ever."

The infernape faced him with his white-hair framed red face. "And I make the same promise to you, as always. But…I'm sorry too, for before. I was being selfish not wanting you to be in love just so you wouldn't leave…"

"Blaze…"

"…and stupid, for fearing you would. We've been through too much together and too good of friends to ever split up, right?"

Leo smiled, nodding. He was certain of that.

"But Leo, I'm now worried about you. Does she know?" jerking a thumb behind them toward the rear of the boat where Sally last was. "Like you, this human is different from the one you knew."

He looked behind them, but the pilot house blocked most of their view. "This Sally never fell in love with me…or my current human self, I think."

"And…well, she is human, Leo. Different species of Pokémon do fall in love all the time, but…"

"Humans are just a different species, right?" Was he grasping at straws?

"I don't think they're Pokémon."

At once he made his decision. "I'm going to talk to her."

Sally had gained a light colored wide-brimmed hat, sunglasses and a chair, and was sitting quietly on the deck near the rear railing, while Grovyle was on a blanket next to her, apparently getting a nice dose of sun.

"Leo down below?" Leo asked as he came up beside her.

Nodding, "He and Chris are taking a nap, I think. Celebi is having fun with Harry."

Looking behind them where Sally pointed, he saw that sure enough, Celebi's light green form could be seen in the pilot house, flying around Harry, the two of them appearing to chat as she pointed to various things. Likely a one-sided conversation for the human, he thought.

"How's the view up front?" Grovyle asked.

"Lots of ocean," replying to the gecko-like Pokémon in Poke speech. Then: "Would if you mind if you gave me and Sally some time alone?"

He raised his eye-ridges as a stronger breeze briefly blew his long head-leaf forward. Simply nodding a reply, he got up and headed forward.

Sally watched him leave before glancing over curiously. "I was about ready for a nap too, after everything. Is he coming back? Otherwise, if you're looking a for a place to lay down," indicating the now vacated blanket.

"I wanted to talk to you."

"Oh?"

Now that he was about to tell her, he wondered just how to start.

"Alone, I'm guessing," she furthered, adjusting her chair to be more upright. "Is something wrong, I mean, more than things are now?"

He wouldn't term things as "wrong", exactly. "It's just something that I think…that I _wanted_ to tell you something." Taking in a breath, "Remember when I said in the Future That No Longer Exists, that we all worked hard to get the gate working before this world was destroyed?" After waiting for her nod, "There was a little more to the story that I left out, and in the days since, I've continued to remember more bits and pieces of it."

He watched her brush some of her long, temporarily blonde hair out of her face as the breeze blew it around. She looked so…beautiful.

"OK, you've got my curiosity going."

Looking off to the distant receding horizon, "I still don't remember everything, most things really, but I know this: in the last year of the project in the other timeline, things were starting to get…bad here. All of us: George, Naomi, Ticonamo, Professor Warner, you and me, we worked really hard to get the gate completed and working, since we knew it was our world's only chance at stopping what was going to destroy everything. We had to battle power outages, frequent storms, earthquakes, food shortages; toward the end, we all were living at the lab with transportation getting difficult." He hesitated at what he was going to say next, but he had to continue. "The two of us, under the pressure of working and trying to keep some semblance of hope, we…fell in love."

"Huh?"

"We gave each other the strength to keep going in the face of everything, and I don't think I could've continued without you. I…still feel that way. I still love you." Finally, he faced her, and she seemed…was it shock, surprise…bewilderment?

"Leo, I…don't know what to say."

"When I had to leave with Grovyle for the Poké world, it was the most difficult thing I ever had to do. We both knew one of us had to go and had known it for some time. That didn't make it easy and I had to leave you in tears. I'm sorry. Up until I was turned into a Pokémon and lost my memories, I always kept hope I could return to you, even after finding out I had to change the past." Remembering those things again threatened to bring tears. Still so painful…

"I…"

"I know you know nothing of this; this was all in the Future That No Longer Exists. But you are still Sally, and…I thought you deserved to know what happened between us under different circumstances. For my own sake, too."

Her lips…they were trembling slightly.

There was one thing he had to know, though. Turning to face her fully, "Sally…I'm sorry for asking something personal, but do you…feel anything for my human self?"

Opening her mouth, she slowly shut it again. Then: "I…don't know. We're good friends, and I'd be lying if I said I haven't thought about a closer relationship. I certainly like him…a lot, I guess, but neither of us have really made any moves. That's as honest as I can be."

"You aren't in love then…"

Softly: "No."

Looking back down at the deck, he let out a slow, pained sigh. "Then that Sally truly no longer exists," he whispered. "She'll never know that I made it safely, that Grovyle and I did stop the distortions, or that Dialga brought me back from non-existence. She will never know…how much I still miss her." A tear fell from one of his eyes, down his face…and there was a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm so sorry, Leo. At least this Sally knows now."

He couldn't fight it anymore as the full impact of all his feelings hit him hard at once. Quickly embracing her, he finally let himself break down and cry at the pain of everything and everyone lost.

"Oh, my poor Leo…"

* * *

Leo Hanson hulled himself out of the cramped bunk, past a still sleeping Chris and after a quick stop in the head, up the stairs into the pilot house. Getting close to sunset, he noted through the windows. He also noted Sally, Grovyle, Blaze and his Pokémon self still out on the deck.

"I was about ready to get you," Harry greeted. "I need someone to take the helm for a couple hours. You know, those pesky things like food and sleep and such. Normally, I'd have Christina take over, but…"

At once, he felt bad again about what happened. "Any news over the radio yet?"

"Actually, yes. Christina and Lonny got back safe and the police are investigating. _By God_, someone at Derganio is gon'na be answering for this! Of course, they'd be wanting statements from all of us at some point…soon. In fact, they wanted us to get back there ASAP."

Leo felt his heart skipped a beat. "We haven't…"

"We're still go'n to Fore-Nine island. Don't worry, I got it's importance the first time 'round. World will end if we don't get there immediately, right?"

"Very well could." Might still end anyway, but he wasn't about to go into the finer details of altering the known future with the old sailor.

"Should be there early tomorrow morning, around 5am I figure, give or take favorable breezes and currents and such. Before sunrise in any case."

Which should be as good as arriving at night. Right from the start, they wanted to get there in darkness so any 'welcoming committee' would have a harder time of it. After the send-off the Derganio people gave them that morning, he was doubly sure it was the right decision. But with a nearly moonless night, finding a place to dock without damaging the boat could be a problem…at least without using the boat's spotlights which would defeat the purpose of landing at night.

Harry continued: "So as soon as I get rested, we should go over that satellite photo of the island and pick a place to beach her." After giving some quick instructions to keep them heading in a particular compass heading, the old man started going down the stairs, leaving him the wheel. "Oh, I almost forgot, I need to saw that cast off your talking swampert friend's arm yet while there's still light." With that, he disappeared below.

That was right, the nurse said several days ago the cast could come off today, provided she had a final examination of his arm. Well, _that_ wasn't going to happen, at least anytime soon, he mused. And perhaps never.

Harry was quickly back up and on the rear deck with a hand saw and bolt cutters in hand; the entire operation took only a few minutes, and his Pokémon counterpart seemed to be quite happy about losing the cast. Quicker than the first time, Harry went down below to stay, presumably for the next long while.

Keeping the boat on course wasn't hard; he barely had to touch the wheel, but he could see if someone wasn't there, the boat would soon drift off course slowly, but surely. The more difficult aspect was fighting off the monotony that started setting in almost as soon as the old sailor left. The drone of the engines was nearly hypnotic as he found out below during his nap, with the effect nearly as great at the wheel.

He finally had to force himself to think what lay ahead. Let's see: they needed to find a place to beach the boat, find where the gate was, figure out a way into whatever structure it was in, then destroy the gate and try to stay alive the entire time by avoiding getting either shot, or made to disappear by some perhaps genetically altered human who could make things disappear. Yep, that about summed it up. And who knew how many Pokémon would be there waiting to stop them.

It was going to be difficult not getting himself worked up in the many hours before they got there; in fact, he was already getting jumpy. Suddenly conscious of it, he forced himself to relax his grip on the wheel and try and get his heart rate back down. Still, there was no use in even pretending to deny it: he was scared, pure and simple.

The door to the deck opened again, Sally walking in. "So, Harry got you to take over for while."

"Yeah. Anything happen the few hours I was out?" He couldn't help noticing in golden glow of sunset, she was even more beautiful.

"Harry heard from Christina. She's safe, thank God."

"Yeah, he told me. That's a relief."

She came forward to stand near him for a while.

In the continuing silence, he finally had to look over to her; she responded with a slight smile, seemingly just staring at him. "What?"

"Oh, nothing." Finally, she went back to the rear to pull out a light jacket. "It's starting to cool off," she commented, before pulling a small crinkly plastic bag out of one of the pockets.

He instantly recognized the dark colored pieces inside it as she held it out. "Oh…chocolate pieces!" She dropped a handful into his hand before leaning against one of the side counters, pouring herself a couple. "Thanks!" It was the first bright spot of the now ending day.

"Just remembered I had some left. Leave some for the other Leo," she said with a wink, setting the small bag on the counter. "I don't know if your other self told you yet or not, but he's been remembering a number of things."

"Oh? Like what?" asking between chocolates.

"Like what everyone was like in that other timeline."

"Guess he never really mentioned much about it," immediately wondering just what it was his counterpart told her. "But the last he talked about it was several days ago." Silence. "Alright, what did he say?"

"Maybe you should ask him."

He glanced behind him at the touch of her hand sliding across his shoulders on her way to the stairs below.

"He really misses everyone. He was taking it kind of hard."

With that, she disappeared below, leaving to him ponder what all that was about. Yet as he thought about it, since the last three years were different for each of them, of course it would be different too for everyone working on the project. Yes, he could see his other self missing them. It made sense. And since that other timeline no longer existed, must be like they had all died from his point of view…he couldn't go back to them…ever. Oh hell, why hadn't he fully realized that before? How would he feel if he had to suddenly leave the world behind, and everyone he knew ceased to exist? Just like his other self was feeling, obviously.

He stared at the last chocolate piece in his hand before popping it in. It didn't seem quite as sweet…

The rear door opened again, only this time his counterpart came in.

"Good evening," Leo greeted, trying to sound cheerful and hoping he wasn't sounding inappropriately so. "How's the arm?"

"Feels lighter," the swampert replied, rotating his newly freed arm and flexing his three large blue fingers. "And unprotected."

"I can imagine." Pointing to the bag of chocolates on the counter, "Sally left some for you."

The swampert stared at it for just a split second before retrieving the said bag and using a finger to fish several pieces out and straight into his large waiting mouth.

"How's everything else going?" he asked, do a little fishing himself for what Sally referred to.

Bringing his blue and white form up to stand next to him, his counterpart stared out the forward window where the last of the light from the setting sun behind them was giving the gently rippling water a deep, golden reflected sheen. "Do you love Sally?"

He just about choked. It wasn't exactly the response he'd been expecting! "What kind of question is that?"

"A simple one, I thought."

Giving the swampert a good, long stare, "Well, maybe."

"You maybe love her?"

"No, I mean it's only maybe a simple question. Why are you asking?"

"I fell in love with her in the other timeline. I thought, maybe you perhaps here too. Only the last three years of the timelines are different."

Oh…now he was beginning to see, especially in light of what Sally told him. "Then…you miss her, don't you?"

"Very much. Not just her, but everyone else too. Seeing their faces again when we went to the lab…triggered a lot of memories, I think. I was glad to see them again, even if they were different people from those I knew and worked with."

"Well, we'll do our best to get you back so you can get to know these ones a little better. I'm sure George, Naomi, Ticonamo and the Professor wouldn't mind working with you. Heck, they put up with me!" It was meant it as a joke, but he saw the waiting look still on his counterpart's face instead. Sighing, "I like Sally…a lot. But love? I don't know. She's, I guess to be truthful, grown on me a little the last couple weeks," which was as truthful as he could be in the face of his own uncertainty, now that he was being forced to face it.

The swampert didn't sound uncertain at all in his reply: "Don't wait. One never knows when you'll never be able to be together again."

Leo thought he finally understood something: "When you left for the Poke world, that meant having to leave her, and when you discovered you had to change the timeline…" He felt doubly bad for him now; being forced to change the timeline meant not just losing friends, but erasing his lover as well. There was a decision he did not envy at all! While trying to think of something comforting to say, both Blaze and Grovyle decided to walk in from outside at that moment.

Both saying something in Poké speak, his counterpart replied back in the same, impossible-for-humans-to-understand language.

Then smiling slightly, "They're hungry," the swampert announced.

Which reminded him that he also hadn't had anything to eat for a while besides the chocolate.

* * *

"Another earthquake!" George yelled, grabbing his laptop off his desk and diving under it like everyone else in the lab as the lights started swinging and the low moan of the earth's movement came rumbling through every wall.

Leo hung on to Sally, protecting her under the large, heavy assembly table in waiting for it to pass. The shaking was stronger than any they experienced before, but thankfully was over after a few more seconds, only causing a few things to fall off the table and shelves around them. Still, the lab had seen better days…

Finally, he let out a sigh of relief at not only the earthquake being over, but also the lights remaining on and nothing collapsing. Too many precious days of work had already been lost due to power failures, and he had pretty much lost hope they'd ever get the backup generator they ordered months before, due to such strong demand for them. Not that diesel was that easy to get anymore anyway.

George apparently was thinking along the same lines in asking about the small used portable generator Naomi mentioned the other day and was currently trying to procure.

"The guy was asking a lot for it," Sally pointed out as Leo helped her crawl from under the table. Looking at her longingly, he gave her a quick hug to help her feel reassured, which she returned. "And it won't supply much power anyway."

"Well, Derganio is giving us unlimited funds these days, and every bit of power will help," Ticonamo said, brushing his work area (and himself) off after readjusting his glasses. "I'm surprised we can't get anything bigger. Oh, damn, I'd better call my parents and make sure they're alright."

"The Professor is still working on it, but the military and cities are getting them all," Leo replied, "and they can't get the parts to make many of them these days. Too much infrastructure is collapsing." Adding: "like the phone network," when Ticonamo slammed the lid of his cell phone shut, apparently not getting any signal.

George huffed. "Tell me about it, I haven't had a shower in days, thanks to the broken water lines."

Grovyle let out a hiss as if reinforcing that comment, before grabbing a towel and starting to wipe off some of the parts now scattered across the table.

It was obvious to all of them the Earth was slowly being destroyed by something far away, even if the general public didn't know that detail yet, and the rate was accelerating. The big questions were, from where and what was causing it? What they did know was it had something to do with time/space dimensional distortions, and Ticonamo was working as hard as he could to bolster the DV detector's range and sensitivity to try and pinpoint the source. Once they knew that, maybe the dimensional gate they were building might be able to counteract it…somehow. The greater hope was the source would turn out to be an actual place the gate could send them to, though that was a long shot in itself considering how theoretical it all was. Still, he already knew what had to be done in that case, and in looking across the table to his Sally, he both hoped for and feared that scenario.

"Hey, give me a hand here, honey," she told him in the sweet voice he loved. He couldn't help a smile and spared a hand to gently brush her hair back in leaning over the table next to her. The coil and it's integrated cooling unit tended to get a little tricky in it's final assembly…

Leo woke in dim light on the floor and with the dream still vivid, it took him a few seconds to remember where he was. That's right, he was a Pokémon now, on a boat heading to Fore-Nine Island to stop another disaster from happening.

Yawning, he wondered how close they were as he got himself off the floor and up the stairs. Everyone else was in the equally dim pilot house, with Grovyle apparently having a go at the wheel along with Celebi, the others gathered around one of the counters under a dim red lamp. A glance at the clock told it was early morning.

"Hey, look who's finally up," Chris exclaimed and Blaze whipped his tail in greeting.

"Sorry," Leo replied, realizing he slept far longer than he intended.

"Don't be," Harry said. "Considering what you folks are going to try and do, you need all the rest you can get."

Going to the counter, the others made room for him.

"We decided to try to dock here," his human self said, pointing to a spot on the satellite photo at the edge of the island.

Looking closer, Leo noticed the barely discernable object appeared rectangular.

"The main facility looks to be on the other side of the island. We're thinking this is an abandoned dock. And if you look here," his human self now pointed to what looked like some half-disguised artificial shapes not far inland, "these might be some buildings. It looks like the roofs are caved in, judging from the vegetation inside."

"The destroyed lab we saw in the one vision?" Leo asked.

His other self shrugged. "Maybe. But in any case, that dock, if that's what it is, does look unused compared to the other on the opposite side of the island."

"It'd be great if it's useable," Harry said. "If we have to beach this boat, we could have difficulty getting her unstuck."

Leaning back against the counter on the other side of the pilot house, "Whether it'll be unguarded is another matter," Sally pointed out. "Surely they also know about it, and if they're expecting us…"

Harry scratched at his grey beard for a few seconds. "We'll go in nice and slow, with no lights. The GPS should be able to get us within a dozen feet, assuming no underwater hazards. Hopefully by then, we should be'er to see something. Hey, which of you Pokémon has the best night-vision?"

"I have good night vision, at least a little better than humans," Grovyle said.

"And I can see as well as you," Celebi replied to him.

Knowing his and Blaze's vision was also about as good as a grovyle's: "I think we're all about equal," Leo replied, gaining a nod from Blaze. "We'll do our best."

His human self and Sally soon retired to the bunks below to rest the couple remaining hours, while Grovyle stayed at the wheel and Harry busied himself with a 'well-past-midnight' snack as he called it, offering some to each of them, which they all readily accepted.

But the dream was still on his mind, to the point where Blaze asked him if anything was wrong. After telling him about it: "I wish I could get the opportunity to say goodbye to all of them one last time."

"Maybe Dialga could arrange…" His friend stopped with a silent gasp, his eyes wide.

Leo knew instantly what he must have just realized.

"If Palkia doesn't return…we can't go back to our world, can we? We're stuck here forever!"

Grovyle turned his head, apparently listening.

Blaze was correct, except… "The dimensional gate can get us back. It got me from here to the Poké world once already."

"Wasn't that a different gate?" Blaze returned. "And wasn't the one here destroyed by Palkia?"

"It looked only damaged to me," Leo said, trying to calm his friend and hoping his scarcely educated assessment was correct. His bigger worry was if the team would be _allowed_ to repair and continue working on it. His human self and Sally had both hinted they were skeptical they would be able to do so after all that has happened and was about to happen. That was assuming they even wanted to. There was mounting evidence such a device was a little too dangerous to play with… "Don't worry," he continued. "If such a gate worked once, it can again. And this time around, we have more time to make sure it works correctly." That at least was most definitely true.

"Leo, you know how to make me keep hope."

He smiled, but remembering his life in the other timeline still made him sad. "I'm starting to think it was a mistake to ask Uxie to unlock my memories. The more I remember, the more…difficult it's becoming. I miss them all a lot, like a wound that just keeps getting bigger with everything I remember. Maybe having my memory erased was really a blessing."

"Leo, we wouldn't have been able to be where we are without what you've remembered!"

"The versions here of everyone, they're leading better lives to be sure, assuming we prevent this disaster, but those I had to leave…they were different people. Those three years really made a difference in making who they were."

"How different was I?" Grovyle suddenly asked. "Certainly I sounded a lot braver than I feel right now."

"Well, you did push Dusknoir into the time portal, giving me and Blaze the chance to save Temporal Tower," Leo replied. "Nothing less than what I did, and I'm scared right now."

"That wasn't me," Grovyle countered.

"Same heart and soul," Blaze countered. "And isn't that what mostly makes us what we are? Only three years of experience are different."

From Blaze's glance at him, Leo knew his answer was meant for him as well as Grovyle.


	17. Chapter 17: Fore Nine

**Chapter 17: Fore-Nine**

Leo Hanson peered into the near-blackness before them, the only real light coming from the readout of a GPS instrument. It was _near_-blackness, since the faintest signs of dawn were already appearing over the looming shadow of the island; they were slightly late. As quiet as he could, he left the pilot house and half felt his way to the rear railing. Whispering down, "Leo, Wartortle, we need to hurry a little! Dawn's coming."

It was a great suggestion by Harry; the boat's engines made noise, but his Pokémon counterpart was a swampert and could fairly easily move the boat with his swimming skills, Wartortle being the same. Once they got within a mile of the island, it was then engines-off and swampert and wartortle power the rest on the way. Combined with complete lights-out, they were as stealthy as they could be.

Wartortle replied back in the usual Poke speech, his counterpart's reply coming as whispered human words: "We're going as fast as we can!" From the strained tone, his exertion was obvious.

He returned to the pilot house just in time to hear a quiet tap from a claw on the front window – the sign they were very close.

"Within a hundred feet," Harry whispered as he glanced at the GPS before quickly switching it off – they getting close enough to not need it and the display's dim light might just be enough to give them away if anyone was watching.

And he could just see it: the straight, dark lines of something man-made in front of an even darker background. Straining his vision to the limit, he struggled to see if anyone was on the presumed dock. Hopefully Grovyle and Blaze were seeing slightly better from the forward deck and the lack of additional taps on the window truly meant there was no one there, verses that they simply couldn't tell if there was.

And soon enough, the glimpse of a small shadow going from forward to back was likely Celebi to tell their two Pokémon "engines" to slow down.

After several heart-pounding moments of the dock's outline growing ever larger, he finally felt a gentle bump through the wooden floor, accompanied by the faint sound of fiberglass hull bumping and sliding against something solid. Harry, Chris and Sally each breathed out long-held breaths while quick scurrying outside produced Leo's voice through the broken window of the rear door: "No one's here!"

It was his turn to breath out a sigh as he lead everyone outside, where all the Pokémon, with their slightly better vision, were busily tying up the boat to what appeared to be old posts. Now that they were right up against it, he could see even in the dim light of pre-dawn that it was indeed a dock, and about four times the length of the boat.

"They definitely were docking some large boats here at one time," Harry remarked.

"Cargo ships?" Leo asked, getting a nod in return.

The difference ten minutes made in the light level was enough for them to get their packs on their backs and themselves onto the dock. It was also enough to make apparent the concrete dock hadn't been used for a while – cracks and pits were everywhere and the iron tie-up posts were half rusted through, telling of complete neglect. Along with some weird, deep irregular "craters" fringed with black scorch marks, it had every look of being abandoned for some time.

"Well, I guess this is about it," Sally said, just starting to hoist her pack up.

He had thought a lot about what he was going to do at this point and he finally put his hand on her arm, stopping her. "I'd like you to stay here with Chris and Harry," bracing for the expected fight.

Her expression was more surprise than anger, though. "What, why? I'm not just along for the ride, you know!"

"Because, just in case something happens, it…wouldn't make sense for us to both get hurt…" He thought about saying "die", but thought better. "Besides, if we fail, there will still be you, Chris and his Pokémon to try a second time."

"A second team again, huh?" Sally returned.

"Aren't you taking any of my Pokémon with you?" Chris asked, Wartortle standing next to him with his arms folded across his shell, looking almost insulted.

"Like Sally said, a second team, and we might have better luck getting in if there are fewer of us," Leo replied, hoping his logic was enough to avoid any argument. His real reason for wanting her to stay behind was still the first one he gave, though.

At first, it seemed Sally was preparing to give him a fight, but then she just smiled. "Alright, but you stay in touch with this," pointing to the radio clipped to his belt loop before giving it a slight pull. "If I don't hear from you every half hour that things are going good, I'm coming for you, got that?"

"Loud and clear." He felt an impulse to give her a kiss…for good luck, but instead just returned her smile with a nod. She looked slightly…disappointed? Maybe he was only imagining it.

…or not. She moved, putting her arms around him in a hug. "I want to see you back here safe and sound, you hear?"

"We'll do our best," returning her hug with some surprise, and still wanting to give her a kiss.

"And you too," she said, releasing him to also give a hug to his counterpart. "All of you."

"Alright, let's go," Leo said after she released his other and back up.

"Every half hour," she reminded.

"Reeree," Celebi replied.

With a sigh, he lead Blaze, Grovyle, Celebi and his counterpart up the ruined dock and over the half-buried road, which covered the short distance over the beach to the base of the island's large central hill. Once there, he stopped to look back a last time, suddenly missing her company. She was growing on him in a way he hadn't realized before… Unclipping the walkie-talkie and touching the button, "Radio check."

Harry quickly replied and with a quiet sigh, he turned to face the hill in front of them again.

"I'm glad you made her stay behind," his counterpart said. "I'd be too worried about her."

"So would I," Leo admitted. She would be safer where she was and able to make a quick escape if necessary.

In the coolness of the morning, the smells of the tropical island were almost inviting, and dew covered everything around them, causing sand to cake to his shoes already. At least in dawn's fast growing light, he could see the road going up the slope wasn't half buried like the lower portion, though it was half overgrown with grass and other vegetation encroaching from the sides and through numerous cracks. Here and there large portions of asphalt were missing, adding to the sense of abandonment and desolation that only crickets and the odd bird broke the silence of. Somewhat further up was what looked like old, ruined structures…

* * *

"Ha ha, feels like old times," Blaze remarked while adjusting the strap of the satchel hanging from his shoulder.

Leo felt in agreement. "Just like when we arrived at the Hidden Land, except Celebi and the second me weren't there," speaking in human language for his other self's benefit.

"Sounds exciting," Celebi said.

"From what they've said of it, I'm not sure 'exciting' is how I would describe what they went through at that place," Grovyle countered.

Floating around the green Pokémon, Celebi faced him directly as they walked along. "What they did there was heroic, _and_ exciting. They saved the two worlds, dear! You don't find that exciting?"

Grovyle grimaced, slowing just slightly. "I supposedly died there, remember? You too, I think," before looking to Blaze.

"Well, she stayed in the Future That No Longer Exists to try and keep Dusknoir from following us."

Celebi flew closer to the ground as she fell behind. In a near mumble: "Ceasing to exist is a little different from dying. And doesn't mean I'm not hoping for better here."

Detecting a slight trembling in her voice, "Then let's hope this will turn out to be nothing like that experience," Leo said, trying to find something hopeful to say, partly for his own benefit as well. The closer they got, the more fearful he was becoming. "This isn't the Hidden Land, and there's no Temporal Tower here."

"That's right!" Celebi said in her usual high-pitched voice, quickly grabbing Grovyle's long head leaf and wrapping it around the front of his face in an quick fly-by, causing him to flinch. "New timeline, different circumstances! Things will turn out very different here, Grovyle! Cheer up!"

The surprised look from Grovyle was priceless…

With the ruins soon looming in front of them, they were actually quite big with one central building and two smaller outlining ones. The smaller ones, being closer, didn't appear bad off, in that all their walls and most of their roofs were still intact. The larger one, a concrete and sheet-metal structure they discovered as they got closer, didn't even have it's four walls anymore with one completely gone and a second partly collapsed. It also looked terribly forlorn.

His human self lead them single-file through the dense growth, eventually reaching a door opening. With sun just over the horizon, ample light illuminated the inside through the open roof and collapsed walls, revealing several more interior walls that were likewise either collapsed or in the process of doing so.

"Careful," his human self warned while walking a path around some of the debris, heading for what seemed the largest room at one end…just before a large bang made them all jump!

"Ow!" Blaze screamed, holding his foot and hoping a few times around a piece of sheet metal, his tail whipping.

"Careful!" Grovyle chided him.

"I know!"

Through the last wall, the large room proved indeed…large. What got his immediate attention though, were the metal posts at one end of the space, all arranged in a large circle with cabling still attached to several of them. Additionally, now that Blaze got him looking at the floor closer, scorch marks were everywhere…

"This is it," his human self said in a near whisper, kneeling by one of the posts and touching his hand to a burn mark on the floor. "I think this is that lab…"

"Something really bad happened here," Leo remarked at all the apparent signs of destruction before moving over to his other self to get a better look at the posts himself.

"This…" using his finger to draw the large circle between them, "must have been that gate, just like we saw. I still get that bad feeling thinking about it."

"So do I," Leo confirmed. Not so much anymore, but he certainly remembered how he felt at first: dark, apprehensive, scared…

Floating by, Celebi arrived at the exact center of the circle. Spreading her tiny legs and arms, she closed her eyes as her wings beat rapidly to keep her steady in mid-air. "Nothing time travel related, or I would sense it," she said after a moment.

"It would have only been dimensional," Leo explained.

"Palkia's expertise," she returned.

Grovyle stepped closer, looking cautiously at the surrounding trees and the rest of the hill that still loomed over them. "We should go."

"This place does have a creepy feeling," Blaze added. "Like filled with ghosts."

Now that his partner mentioned it, that was exactly how it felt. "I think a number of humans died here," hoping that wasn't the case, but also knowing what he saw in the vision left little doubt. A breeze stirred, the first of the morning, making the trees around them to start rustling and some small birds hastily vacate, giving him a shiver.

"How much you want to bet what happened here was about six years ago?" his human self said, standing up and already starting to lead the way out. "Or at least not too long before we started our gate project?"

Given how their gate seemed increasingly tied to what Derganio was doing, Leo didn't doubt it at all.

* * *

Kol didn't take his eyes off the diagnostic screen in reaching for his phone.

"IR is showing activity at the old site," Terrance informed. "Shall I go and intercept?"

Such loyalty, even in the face of overwhelming odds…

Although he'd been waiting for the news, he didn't know where on the almost five-square mile island they would be showing up and actually, he had been expecting them sooner. Did they purposely travel slower than they could have? "No. There's too many of them for you to handle by yourself. We will wait for them here. Find Darryl and get ready." Not that he wasn't thankful for the extra time. Over the night, the technicians performed superbly in completing final checkouts, enabling them to already start running power tests.

Still, it _was_ an all-nighter and the interruption was enough to get him up and refill his mug with some now hours-old but still warm coffee. Savoring the semi-sweet and bitter mixture that he still found rather unique, he walked past the various consoles where the technicians were busy to one of the large, thick windows overlooking the gate room. At the far end the massive ring sat, promising salvation. If only…

It wasn't that he was _that_ worried about Leo Hanson and Dialga's and Palkia's accomplices who were with him, but he had already underestimated them once. Since he had left most of his agents on the mainland, Terrace and Darryl by themselves probably wouldn't be able to handle them in light of how they failed to do so at the University's lab even with Gerald's help. Of course now, Darryl was minus his charizards… And he didn't really trust the regular security; his control did have limits.

After taking a long sip of the dark brew, he tried to relax…with mixed success. The end result was he was likely going to have to stop the two Leo's and their cohorts himself. Again, he had no doubt in his abilities, just that it still meant a risk, however slight.

"Sir, we'll be ready for first full power-up test in ten minutes!" one of the technicians announced excitedly.

Gradually, he let a smile cross his face. For seven hard years he had worked for this day, taking great risks along the way, but now it was at hand. A new world was about to be born. "Inform our expert we're about ready, then." Of course, running two identical projects at once certainly cut the time too, with the information gleaned from one helping the other toward the end.

* * *

Sweaty, heart racing and half out of breath, Leo Hanson peered over the rock, mindful of his Pokémon counterpart next to him also looking with head fins sticking up higher any anyone's head. If there had been anyone looking in their direction, he would've instantly pushed down on the swampert's head; as it was, only one bored-looking guy in a dark-blue Derganio security uniform was walking around the large concrete two-storied building…with a rhydon alongside.

Mid-morning. Two hours to get to the other side of the island through warm and humid palm-tree forests over and around the central hill, and he was more than a little tired. The slight panting of the Pokémon confirmed the same for them (save for Celebi who had the gift of flight). Obviously, the beach would've been a much easier route, but was also probably watched. Now at the supposed research facility itself, he was almost surprised the buildings weren't better guarded. Unless there was some remote surveillance, but in looking around there didn't appear to be any, not even cameras. Maybe being on a remote island was most of the security?

Was Derganio that confident? Or that Kol person? Surely _he_ was on the island. The last vision he shared with his counterpart placed the man here, but was it still in the future or in the past?

Only one way to find out, unfortunately.

Faced with their first 'real' difficult task in getting to the gate and disabling it, his nerves became anything but steady. God, he was a University researcher, not a special agent! But there was no one else besides him and the Pokémon next to him to do what had to be done.

But even now, one part of his mind pointed to the apparent absurdity of it all…

They made for an interesting team: one human and four Pokémon, one of which being considered near-mythical. Certainly, he felt privileged to have met and now work with Celebi. He just hoped it didn't end here.

The rhydon's tail disappeared around the building's corner and in answer to the other's stares: "Let's rest a minute," he whispered, still breathing hard…just before a low vibration traveled through the ground. Only the third one they felt in the last hour, and the Pokémon's stares grew more urgent as he quickly reconsidered if they even had a minute.

Theoretically, a properly functioning dimensional portal should create no vibrations. The fact that it felt like the one here was doing so just like the University's gate (assuming it was a gate being activated and not something else), meant they were still testing and getting things aligned. But the vibrations hadn't been growing in intensity as they moved closer, perhaps indicating they were getting less severe as they got closer to proper alignment…and therein was the puzzle.

If any disaster were to happen, he would have laid odds it would've happened during one of the initial alignments. Once everything was adjusted correctly, the greatest danger by far was already past. But if they were now past that point…what else could cause a disaster from the gate?

A tap on his shoulder from Grovyle made him realize the Pokémon were getting anxious. Time to go.

The small "side" door into building wasn't far; he breathed a sigh of relief as they made it into the small alcove apparently without being seen. Now it was just the…

Blaze tried the door.

…locked door they had to get open. "Guess it's time to make an entrance, unless any of you know the code," referring to the keypad in the wall.

Grabbing the handle, his counterpart started pulling on it with apparently all his might. The door started creaking…just before the handle broke off!

Leo shook his head. Not that it was really a bad idea breaking the lock, but the door also had a deadbolt with no accompanying handle!

The Pokémon said a few words between themselves briefly, before Grovyle picked at the exposed latch mechanism, getting the inside half off and leaving a small hole to the inside. After a quick look through it, he ducked for Celebi who then stood on him to reach through with all of her small arm. After a few more words between them and a moment of feeling around, the door unlatched.

"You guys are amazing!" Leo whispered in new-found respect while ushering them all into the dark room that greeted them. Into the radio: "First base," using their short predetermined code phrase. Never knew what kind of radio scanner Derganio had set up. Since it was likely to be the last transmission before they either succeeded or failed, he instead put the unit into a back pocket. It was a tight fit, and he had to remove something to make it fit before replacing it with some effort.

Now, if only the door they came through hadn't been wired, otherwise they could likely expect visitors very shortly. And in case that were true… "Come on, let's get out here!"

Grovyle already had their flashlight on.

* * *

Leo waited nervously until the two white-robed humans passed by and his human self waved his hand before exiting the room and scurrying into another with Blaze. The building was big and peering down the hallway, apparently had a lot of rooms. The one they just entered was one of the smaller, filled only with a few chairs and a table…and a map on the wall!

"Got to love these government safety requirements," his human self mumbled as he and Grovyle looked over the small plaque outlining two floors.

Leo watched along with Blaze and Celebi as the two ran their finger and claw across it, first finding where they were presently, then the most likely place to go.

"Ha ha, do humans ever build anything small?" Blaze asked quietly, giving the map a final stare as they prepared to move again.

"Depends on the purpose." But he got his partner's point: it was a fair distance between where they were and where the gate itself likely was, that being the largest room in the building which also occupied both floors, which just happened to be on the other side of the building. If it was like the University's gate, it would need the height.

The human walking out of a doorway ahead was very quick and unexpected…

"Hey! Who are you?"

Taking after Blaze as they leapt ahead of the others, Leo helped in quickly taking down the human, but not before he let out a surprised scream.

"Crap!" his human self hissed. "Come on!"

Leo ran with the rest of the group down the hall as other white-robed humans started poking their heads out of various rooms, each ducking back in as they ran by. Of course, now that they had been seen and the 'alarm' given, it really didn't matter much they were no longer being stealthy.

Grovyle's foot claws scraped the smooth concrete floor as they all rounded a corner, the main doors to the probable gate room only a few seconds ahead of them. Except…his human self diverted them to a stairwell.

"Aren't we going to the gate?" Leo asked in surprise. Surely, wasn't the gate their target?

"We got to shut it down first!" his human self hurried before they exited onto the second floor…and nearly straight into two familiar humans and their Pokémon!

"You! I want my charizards back!" the former charizard trainer yelled just before: "Stun spore!"

"Blaze!"

Leo braced himself as his partner responded instantly to his human self's command, blowing flame from his mouth as the mushroom-like Pokémon was releasing a fine, dark-colored power from under it's head cap. The result was three humans and three Pokémon hitting the floor as the combustible mixture lit up, spreading a small flash fire up and down the corridor. Still standing, Blaze emerged from the flames with only a few singed hairs, the breloom looking only slightly worse.

Not about to give them any chance to counterattack, Leo filled his mouth with water and leaping forward, let it go forcefully in the form of the thin, high-velocity wall of a water pulse, pushing the breloom back several feet and also knocking over the blue jean and black-suited humans right as they started getting up. But it was immediately obvious it wasn't enough. "Grovyle, your turn!"

As if reading his mind, the gecko-like Pokémon continued the assault by leaping up and giving the tough mushroom Pokémon a taste of his leaf blades. She went down, Blaze giving her a punch to make sure she stayed down…before he had to duck as a staravia screamed down the corridor, nearly taking his head off!

"Claw attack, hurry!" the scarred-hands human yelled.

Already far down the corridor, the large grey and white Pokémon bird seemed to struggle to stop in mid air and get turned around in the confining hall with a rapid flapping of wings, but it was coming back soon enough with increasing speed.

From their many battles with bird-species Pokémon, Leo knew how to setup for it with Blaze without any communication, and that was for him act as decoy so the bird would attack him, but instead fly past when…

He ducked and whipped around the split second before the staravia screamed just over his head, Blaze releasing his flamethrower attack which the staravia could no longer avoid.

Flying straight into the flames, the bird appeared to rake a claw across the top of his partner's head as Blaze gave a quick upward punch. With a screech as good as any he'd ever heard, the Pokémon's forward and now upward momentum sent it smashing into the ceiling over the heads of the Derganio humans, showering everyone and everything around with feathers, ceiling tile debris, shattered glass and electrical sparks, taking out several lighting fixtures in the process. The staravia ended up on the floor wiped out, and the two Derganio trainers were on their feet, backing up as they avoided conduit and sparking wires hanging from the wrecked ceiling.

"Damn you!" the man with charred hands shouted as his partner was dragging his breloom down the hall, "I can't allow you to interfere here!"

"We're trying to stop a disaster!" Leo heard his human self shout back from behind.

In a smooth motion, the man pulled out a gun, aiming it directly for…

Now knowing what the object was and how dangerous it could be, he didn't even wait for his mouth to fully fill with water before hitting with a weak water pulse, forcing the human to protect his face; Grovyle charged immediately to knock the weapon from his hand, sending it flying across the floor until Blaze stepped on it.

With apparent desperation, the man started punched at Grovyle before taking off down the corridor and around the corner, nearly slipping on the now wet floor.

His human self let out a sound of relief. "Good work everyone," though his voice indicated shakiness and the finger he was using to point to the first large door on the left was anything but steady. "That's the control room, I think." Leo let him race to the door first, where he glanced through the small window in the door while reaching for the control…then stopped. "Oh no, my God…"

"What is it?" Blaze asked in sudden alarm, trying to see around him.

With foreboding, Leo was trying to get a look himself as his other self seemed frozen in front of the glass. "What do you see?"

His human self stepped back, face in shock. "It's… Damn, I was suspecting something happened to him, but not this!" Punching the door control, it slid open on a room filled with various tables, consoles and taller boxes with flashing lights in the back, not too unlike what was at the University's lab. A handful of humans were inside, all wearing similar white lab coats…except one was familiar.

Blaze's eyes grew wide. "It's him!"

"The Professor is…_here?_" Grovyle gasped.

* * *

Leo Hanson rushed in, ignoring the surprised shouts from those inside. "Professor! Are you alright?" If anyone at Derganio hurt him, they would be answering to him!

The grey-haired man looked up from the console with his usual manner, only a smile spread across his face as he took notice. "Oh, Leo! I'm glad you could make it. It's actually fitting you should be here now."

It wasn't exactly what he had been was expecting to hear. Resisting the urge to put his hands on him and shake him, "John, are you alright? Have they hurt you?"

The Professor seemed to look at him curiously for just an instant. "Me, hurt? No. I'm helping them complete this gate. We're almost ready. Maybe you can help…"

Almost instinctively, he started stepping back from him. "What?" Something was very wrong… This was not the Professor John Werner that he knew, not the one he had been working under for over six years! "John, we have to stop them using this gate! Don't you remember what we told you?"

"Hey, who the hell are you people?" one of the technicians demanded. "Ahh!"

Grovyle had instantly put himself in front of the vocal man, brandishing his leaf blades in the guy's face. As another reached for a phone, he jumped to slash the line, forcing the stunned technician to slam his chair back into the wall.

With his partner keeping watch over everyone, Blaze, Celebi and his counterpart started surrounding the Professor.

"Professor, the disaster is still coming. The University's gate is damaged, so it can't be the cause anymore. This gate can be the only other source of it!"

The Professor stared back momentarily, eyes unnaturally calm. "No, I think you must be mistaken. No disaster to going to happen here."

"What do mean? You heard their story," indicating his counterpart and the infernape, "you even postponed the project because of it! It must be this gate!" The older man was now simply staring back, looking confused, and he was starting to feel as much. He had been worried before after he was told of the disaster, why wasn't he concerned at all now? Or…no, had the concern been false? Could it, this man he's worked with for so many years…was it conceivable? Anger rising: "Have you been working for Derganio all along?"

Grovyle hissed as the technicians started getting restless, distracting the Professor for a moment. "Grovyle, play nice here!" he demanded. "And no, I haven't been working for them all along. Kol needed help completing his own gate, so I came to help…"

"They destroyed _our_ gate!" Leo shouted back. "I think he used it to _lure_ Dialga and Palkia there, and he did something to them. Damn it, John, he made them _disappear!_"

"Dialga and Palkia…were there? Well, I think that was part of the plan."

He was sure the Professor's nonplussed look was real. What was with him? Grasping the older man by his shoulders, he fully intended to shake some sense into him, respect be damned, but as soon as he made contact…

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his Pokémon counterpart grimace, bowing his head as he started going down and instantly, he knew what it was, feeling the exact same way. The dizziness…he was now more than accustomed to what it meant.

_In a room without windows, the Professor was strapped into a chair. A man with long white hair stood behind him as two others were hovering around him, one administering something into his arm with a syringe… _

Backing up, he felt his anger rising further. "You bastards, you drugged him!" He was about to shout something else, a far worse name to the Derganio people, but lost the thought as his head started hurting…real bad, and real fast. Gasping with sudden pain, he looked around, finding the Pokémon grasping their own heads. But it wasn't just pain…there was a growing…_overwhelming_ feeling of darkness…of fear! And in a corner of his mind, he recognized it! From a particular vision…

Instinctively, he started backing up with the Pokémon, hoping to make it to the door as the only other door to the room opened on the far side; dressed in a knee-length light blue coat, a tall, thin man with near-white chest-length hair walked in. The pain and feeling of darkness stopped at once, but his heart was pounding as if a vise were around it.

"It wasn't just drugs," Kol said, gently shutting the door behind him with obvious purpose. "Psychic abilities have multiple uses." Then with a thin smile spreading across his somewhat boyish face: "Hello again, Leo."

Between recovering from the attack and digesting what the man just said, Leo Hanson noticed the Derganio head of research didn't appear to be addressing him.


	18. Chapter 18: Kol

**Chapter 18: Kol**

Leo finally was able to let go of his head as the pounding pain and feeling of dread faded. The human Kol was still staring directly at him… "We haven't met!" Before his vision of the man fighting Dialga and Palkia, he hadn't even seen him before…except for the brief glimpse at the University lab on the night of the fight.

"It…it can talk?" one of the technicians exclaimed to the others, all now standing well off to the side except for the Professor, who remained at his console.

"I guess it was a little while ago, in that other timeline that was erased," Kol replied calmly. "You were still human then. Oh, that's right, you're still recovering most of your memories." He came forward to stand behind the Professor, putting a hand on his shoulder.

If the human had only professed knowledge of the other timeline, that wouldn't have surprised him, being that he probably heard of his and Blaze's story. But that he knew that they met in it…

"The Professor couldn't have told you about something like _that_," his human self said, sounding equally surprised.

"Oh, just one of my abilities to know that." The fair-skinned human raised a hand, as if dismissing it as no great thing. "But to the subject at hand, I can't let you stop this little project of mine." His expression becoming cold, determined: "This gate _will be_ used."

Grovyle started growling as he tensed…

Kol had his hand up immediately, rotating it.

At once, Leo felt dizziness again, but a different feeling from the Dimensional Scream as his vision turned watery. Yet Grovyle was still crystal clear as he leapt forward…

…to stop in mid-sir as if hitting something solid! Blaze and Celebi tried as well, meeting the same result.

"I put a dimensional bubble around you," Kol continued, still calm. "You can't break it, and one thought from me and you'll be gone. Oh, and Celebi, your time-traveling has no effect inside there."

The light green Pokémon appeared to be straining, eventually disappearing in a glow of light, only to reappear an instant later, looking very surprised.

Kol smirked.

What could he do? Leo thought desperately, fighting to became calmer. Touching his hand to the watery wall, it was solid, cold, wavy, almost feeling like a living, moving thing. A dimensional bubble? As in a separate dimension?

"Is this what you did to Dialga and Palkia?" Blaze shouted.

"You aren't human, are you?" his human self asked before Leo could translate Blaze's question.

"Is it that obvious?" Kol replied with a air of sarcasm.

"Then what _are_ you?"

"Well, you could say I'm sort of like your swampert friend there, part human, part Pokémon. He's very unique in that way, you know: a human mind trapped in a Pokémon's body."

Leo never quite thought of himself in that way. He'd been able to do a lot of things he was certain he couldn't do if he had remained human. At the moment though, it didn't seem like he could do much no matter what form he was in. "You're going to kill us, aren't you?" His human self grimaced, flashing him a glare. Maybe asking was a mistake, but how long could they keep him talking and delaying the inevitable?

Yet in a relaxed, confident gate, Kol let his hand glide across the surface of a console as he rounded one of them, approaching the bank of windows before looking below toward the gate. "I was thinking since you went through _all_ the trouble to get here, the least I could do would be to let you see…" His lips started curling into a wry smile, "…this _disaster_ you say you're trying to prevent. Let's just say I'm giving you a gift for ending that other truly disastrous timeline and creating this one."

"Explain exactly how you know about the Future That No Longer Exists!" Celebi demanded.

Leo was about to translate, but Kol whipped around. "I told you, it's one of my abilities, just like it is for Dialga!"

He…what? Leo wasn't sure what he was more shocked about, that the human could understand Celebi or that he was claiming he had one of Dialga's abilities!

Kol continued: "And this…disaster, as you call it, isn't really a disaster at all. Think of it more as the beginning of a new era and as a means to save many lives."

And what exactly did that mean? Whose lives?

Facing the technicians briefly: "Continue with the aligning process everyone," Kol commanded. Seemingly without question, all the white-robed humans took seats around the room and started working, including the Professor. Were they _all_ drugged, as his human self interpreted from the vision? If they were under some kind of control, yelling at them to stop likely wouldn't do any good!

Kol moved from the windows to lean against the front of one of the consoles, looking very much relaxed. "Well, since we have the time. You aren't going anywhere after all," he chuckled. "Maybe I might even convince you to help me. Especially you."

Although he felt revulsion that the human-thing would even suggest such, he also felt curious as he pointed at him. At least enough to want to know if it was something he could leverage to get him to stop using the gate.

"A human physically changed into a Pokémon _really_ is quite unique. Especially one with your intelligence. You share the most kinship with me of anyone here."

Blaze hissed. "Careful, Leo. Don't trust…_it_."

"Don't worry about that," Leo returned, remembering Kol could understand them. He also fought to think of a way to get out of the dimensional bubble. If only he had more of his knowledge about such things… With a quick side-ways glance to his human self, he hoped at least he could figure out a way.

"The others of my kind I'm sure would welcome you," Kol continued. "But an amusement only has so much value." Forming a bemused expression, "Time…is limited."

Did he hear right? Leo stared back, noticing Blaze becoming more animated. "There are more like you?"

"Oh, indeed!" Sighing, the white-haired 'human' leaned over the console to give some attention to a display before facing them again. "Let me tell you a little bed-time story," he begun in the tone of a parent to a child. "Long, long ago in ancient times, Palkia was once worshiped as a deity by a primitive human tribe on this planet. Occasionally, he would even appear before them, though his reasons for doing so were known only to him. Always, he would stay for the briefest of moments and gaze around, as if looking for something, then leave again without so much as a word, even in Poke language. But one day that changed. Palkia appeared at the small temple and with a great, rumbling roar, the village became surrounded in a white veil. It stayed that way for many days and the villagers became quite frightened. The great dragon locked himself in the temple, allowing no one in until the veil disappeared. But when it did, so did he, though where he had gone was the least of their worries. When the veil disappeared, the view that greeted these humans outside the village was…not of their own world. Even the stars in the night sky had changed! Somehow, Palkia had transported the entire village to a different planet!"

"What kind of story is that?"

Leo was about to ask the same thing as his human self did, but Kol held up a hand to cut them off.

"Their new world was a savage place and the humans at first were ill-equipped to deal with the new dangers. Fortunately, Palkia frequently returned and served as a protector for many years. But as the years passed, he showed up less and less until eventually, he simply didn't return at all. The humans were forced to learn ways to defends themselves against the planet's dangerous wildlife. So over the following hundreds of years, the humans did learn those ways, multiply, and gradually built their technology. Then suddenly, one day after having been gone for centuries, Palkia returned, and he wasn't alone. Dialga arrived with him!

"The two dragons fought ferociously for reasons not understood, and the battle eventually ended up as a draw between the two, though not before causing great destruction in their battle.

"Seeing this, these humans decided they could no longer afford to be at anyone's mercy. By this point, they had advanced their knowledge enough to know advanced sciences. And so they searched and found two items each great dragon left behind from their battle: a scale from each of them.

"The research was difficult and took many years before the scientists were able to successfully weave aspects of the Pokémon's DNA with human DNA. But all the effort was worth it: the creation of a new human race, a race with human intelligence but most the abilities of both Dialga and Palkia."

Celebi's eye grew as she gasped: "No…that can be possible!"

"That's…unnatural!" Grovyle shouted with a growl.

Leo felt his own anger rising. To steal abilities from the two ancient dragon Pokémon that were held is such high regard by every Pokémon in existence seemed…a crime!

"You're lying!" Blaze breathed, whipping his tail about as his mane puffed. "Dialga and Palkia never mentioned anything like that happened!"

"I'm sure there's lot of things they haven't told you, infernape! And since that battle many decades ago, neither of them returned, but this new race quickly became the only one on the planet, with every child born being endowed with the new genetic sequence. Their new abilities finally allowed them to completely live at ease with the other creatures on the planet, no longer having fear of them. Yet…despite their gifts, there is one danger even they can't overcome: their world is now dying from long-term climatic change. A new home is needed.

Leo suspected where Kol's story was leading, noticing his change from past to present tense. If that's where it was going…

"Unlike Palkia," Kol continued, "these humans don't quite have the same level of energy – they can't create portals at a great enough distance to find another habitable planet. Things were getting dire for them after several years of less and less food from failed crops, and there was little hope; long-distance space travel was till technologically out of reach." Pausing, he looked down for a moment, as if mourning something. "Then…something fortuitous occurred. A portal was detected, not far away. Through their own powers, the humans were able to bring the portal closer until it was on the planet. After several attempts at contact, an emissary came through, an human from the old race…from Earth. After…_convincing_ him to bring one of us back, I came through and eventually took over the corporation."

With dread, Leo realized his suspicion was creeping closer to being true, though it would have been completely unbelievable if he and Blaze weren't from a different planet themselves! "So, you're from a different world too, then."

"How convenient a portal opened so close to you," his human self added. "Derganio was careless in their research!"

Kol huffed while checking something on another screen. "I wouldn't quite call it luck. Apparently, some archeologists on this planet came across some old ruins some time ago. Found in them were unown writings describing a great 'transportation' of an entire village…along with some descriptions as to where they were taken. It seems Palkia left some clues behind. A bright Derganio scientist already working on the early gate prototype, figured out actual coordinates from them. So the first actual use of gate seven years ago was to find the planet spoken of in the writings."

"Amazing story," Grovyle commented as he glared back with his green eyes.

"Yes, isn't it?" Kol replied with a half smile.

Grovyle continued, turning his voice angry: "But you destroyed that gate and killed many of the humans there, didn't you?"

At first, Kol seemed a little surprised, then: "So you know of that incident, then. Well, it wasn't pleasant journey; it hurt a good deal to traverse dimensionally in that manner. As it was, I was in pain when I arrived here and not in complete control, so yes, I ended up destroying the gate. But I resolved to rebuild a much better one, and I worked my way into Derganio and…" Gesturing with a open wave of a hand, "…convinced it's leaders of my goals. Your contributions helped too."

"In helping you destroy Dialga and Palkia?" Celebi yelled, her high-pitched voice making it sound less then angry, though she obviously she was.

In a lowered, more growly voice, "What did you do with them?" Leo demanded.

"They're gone," Kol returned simply.

"How? Where?" he pressed. If nothing else, how this human-Pokémon hybrid made Dialga and Palkia disappear might give them a clue as to how to defend themselves against him!

* * *

Leo Hanson wanted to know too, figuring they were asking about Dialga and Palkia. But Kol only gave an unsatisfactory, "You wouldn't understand."

The hybrid continued: "I anticipated they would sense what was happening and try and stop me. Indeed, I saw them in the future as interfering; that's why Derganio funded your project…"

Feeling his anger rising, Leo stepped toward the dimensional wall, planting a fist into it - it was like hitting a brick wall covered with a thin layer of foam. "We really were just a diversion then!"

"They might have stopped me," Kol pointed out with seemingly little emotion. "I needed a way to stop them first. Very simple concept. Just like when you battle – hit your opponent and knock them out before they hit you."

Blaze said something angrily with tightly clenched fists, but his counterpart didn't translate. Kol just huffed in response, turning his back to check on one of the other consoles and mumble something to the two technicians there. Almost immediately, a slight vibration was apparent from objects on the consoles moving, though it quickly passed.

"Generator bank B on standby," one of the techs announced. "Full power available."

Kol gave them pats on their backs before returning to in front of the dimensional bubble. "Maybe I shouldn't mention my research team had access to your research all along," speaking with a slight sneer. "Your team is very gifted Leo, I should complement. Rebuilding this gate went much quicker with your help, especially since most of the team here…didn't quite survive seven years ago. Those that did, swore their loyalty to me, though."

"And after how much persuasion?" he spat, barely noticing Grovyle acting nearly as agitated as he was.

Kol shrugged. "As much as it took. This is about survival."

"Whose?" his swampert counterpart demanded.

Leo forced himself to stop and take a deep breath, though it wasn't very satisfying. He couldn't afford to lose control – he had to think of a way out of this and get the gate disabled…though at the moment it seemed impossible. What did he know about this dimensional bubble? Certainly he could theorize in a broad sense how it might be done using technology, but using a Pokémon's…_Palkia's_ ability…he had no clue! Even if he could think of a way to disrupt the bubble, there was nothing in his pack that would help. He felt himself losing hope fast… "Alright, so tell us, why would Palkia and Dialga want to stop you in the first place? What disaster did they think you are going to cause?"

"I thought you would have figured that out, considering what I just told you." In response to a beep, the white-haired hybrid faced the Professor.

"Programming of coordinates complete," Professor Werner announced scarcely a moment later. "Starting final calibration cycle."

Kol seemed to take a deep breath himself before straightening his long cloak and facing them, "When this gate is fully aligned and calibrated, which will be in a few moments, I will be opening it to my world to rescue the rest of my race. Once here, we'll finally have a healthy planet at our disposal. There is plenty of room for each of us to have our own kingdoms, as we were meant to have. We do, after all, have the powers of two gods. We are their children."

In looking at his counterpart, Blaze, Grovyle, and Celebi, they all held the same astonished look as he felt. "You're…going to take over the Earth?" Although he sounded outraged, he no longer felt it. Trapped in the bubble with seemingly impenetrable walls…there was nothing he or any of the Pokémon could do. So then, this was the disaster Dialga warned about. The Earth would fall to a race of human-Pokémon hybrids, each with seemingly unprecedented power! It was all but a fact now, and he was feeling tired, sweaty, exhausted…and unable to muster much anger anymore. They failed.

And it was getting warm.

* * *

Leo knew he had to do something…but what? He could see no way through the watery-looking wall of the dimensional bubble. Certainly his own water pulse attack was useless. Blaze's, Grovyle's and Celebi's own attempts had proven equally futile.

Was this it then? The disaster Dialga sensed was going happen now, that being untold numbers of human-Pokémon, each with Dialga's and Palkia's powers, roaming the planet? With those abilities, who could stop them?

Kol was shrugging, "You archaic humans aren't doing that great a job. You could use someone to bring harmony and order to you, with all your petty battling and using slave Pokémon to do it."

Grovyle growled loudly.

"And should I even mention all the Pokémon, who have failed to really achieve anything great? Some are intelligent, but it all goes to waste…"

"All emitters are fully aligned," one of the white robed humans said from a far console.

"Computer predicts two minutes to final calibration," Professor Werner added.

Forming a grin across his pale boyish face, Kol bowed his head briefly before facing the windows and the gate below, standing much straighter. "It's the dawn of a new and better world, and salvation for my people! Those who follow us will be helped. Those who oppose…won't last. And maybe, eventually, we can find other planets to bring order to. Like that Poké world. From what I've gathered, it isn't far away…"

Celebi visibly tensed. "How dare you!"

"You're an evil human, just as bad as Darkrai was!" Blaze shouted, his mane puffing greatly.

"Depends on your definition, infernape," Kol returned. "And this Darkrai sounds like a fool for…"

"I define it as those who conquer those who don't wish to be," Leo answered. In Poke history, there were such stories; fortunately those who did the conquering were eventually defeated. Next to him, he saw his human self glistening, sweat on his face, as he spoke.

"So you're going to kill anyone who doesn't bow before you?"

The white-haired human-Pokémon didn't reply; instead, he continued gazing down at the gate for several moments. Finally: "Something else you maybe don't remember, _Leo_, is I helped you build the gate in that other timeline, even scrapping the building of this one so you and your team would have the equipment needed to finish yours…so this world would continue to exist. Of course, I never really told you…"

"What?" Leo back-stepped, about to call him a liar before realizing he could be telling the truth in the absence of most of his memory.

Swinging around and waving an arm: "Where do you _think_ all that equipment came from in that last year? You certainly couldn't buy it, all the factories were crumbling. So if anything, this world…this timeline _owes_ it's very existence to me! And you saved it for me very nicely, Leo…or rather, for this version of me."

"Is that…true?" Blaze asked, eye's wide.

"I don't remember!" Leo replied, feeling equally surprised. If this human-Pokémon really did help…

But his partner didn't seem to dwell on it: "Ha ha! Then you only wanted it saved it so you could _take_ everything over, is that it?" folding his arms across his white-haired chest. "Same goal as Darkrai had!"

Leo couldn't have said it better himself, but sufficed in merely paraphrasing what Blaze said for his human self's sake.

Grovyle tightened one of his hands into a two-fingered fist. "I don't feel I owe him _anything._"

"I still want to know where Dialga and Palkia are!" Celebi tried shouting, but came out sounding tired.

Kol waved a hand, frowning severely. "Keep that attitude up, and you'll find out! All I have to do is collapse that bubble, little time-traveling pest!"

Celebi emitted a sound almost like a growl.

Several chimes sounded and the Professor became animated in touching several controls. "Calibration complete. We're ready!" Almost like a child, he smiled…

Must he sound so cheerful? From what he remembered of the Professor, he wouldn't normally be as such at the end of the world. Drugs…or was it some form of telepathic control? Some Pokémon could manage a form of rudimentary control for brief periods of time, like to confuse their opponents or put them to sleep. But if that was what Kol was using, it went far beyond those simple abilities. As if having Dialga's and Palkia's abilities (or so he claimed) and a fear attack weren't already enough!

"We have to do something," Blaze whispered as Kol went around visiting the consoles, apparently checking things over the shoulders of the others.

"Like what?" Grovyle huffed quietly back as he just caught himself from falling over. "We can't get out of here!" With a hand, he hit the barrier, rather weakly as he was breathing heavily.

Celebi floated in front of them, the wind from her wings feeling really good... "If I could time travel, I could go back to…before this bubble was created, but…I don't know why…I can't."

Leo noticed she was breathing heavily too as she suddenly floated over his head to land on it, clearly exhausted. In fact, so was he…and now that he paid attention, the air was feeling very warm and stale…

The dimensional barrier was airtight!

* * *

Kol looked over the favorable readings, quickly arriving at his decision: "Start charging power. I'm going to the gate room. Activate on my command." It was an easy decision to activate the gate as soon as it was ready, having worked toward it for seven years. Now that success was at hand, it felt…satisfying, and he whisked out of the control room without further word.

Saying anything more was rather pointless anyway: neither Leo Hanson nor any of the Pokémon were likely to be convinced, although he held some hope for the swampert. Truly, an unique specimen there. But even after considering at length about letting him out of the bubble, he still decided the risk was too great the others might escape and launch an attack, damaging something. Maybe after the air became a little more oxygen deprived and they were unconscious that might be a possibility, assuming they survived until he completed his task in sending a message back to his home world.

The fate of the others though, he was fairly certain how that would have to end.

No, the only real unfortunate thing about the situation was that Palkia couldn't be around to witness his 'children' returning home after many thousands of years. Too bad the great life-giver had to try and stop him instead. If nothing else, he'd like to ask the reason his ancestors were transported to another world in the first place. It was one of the great mysteries.

Back to the subject at hand, thinking as he picked he way around the debris in the hall, he _could_ use his abilities to force the swampert to be more…malleable. It really would be a waste to let him die. But would the others allow him to live once they came through the portal? Despite what he said, they might not be all that welcoming and kill him; most of his kind were not quite as…tolerant as he was. Indeed, he suspected much of the unspoken reason he was given the task of coming to this planet in the first place was to merely get rid of him and as such, didn't really expect him to succeed, even though that was their hope.

Yes, won't they all be surprised when he turns out to be the one who saves their entire race? Quite of bit of stature it will afford him!

Gliding down the open metal stairs with near elation, he moved swiftly down the hall and toward the double doors leading to the gate room, scarcely looking the opposite way in leaving the stairwell. It only registered in his mind a couple seconds later that out of the corner of his eye, something didn't look quite right… After another second, he realized why!

But even as he started whipping around, he heard a shout: "Thunderbolt!"

And by the time he could fully face the group of one human and four Pokémon, the electric charges were already at the point of leaving the Pokémon's bodies. _Of course Leo Hanson hadn't come alone!_

Suddenly, he could see nothing after the bright flashes as his own body convulsed for many seconds! Finally able to let out his own scream, he fell to the floor, quickly feeling a level of adrenaline he hadn't experienced even when battling Dialga and Palkia! Barely regaining his sight, he started forcing himself back up while preparing a physic attack…only his restored view of the hall was of being slammed backwards and after landing hard on the concrete floor, of the blue wartortle on top of him.

"Hello," it greeted, it's tone contrasting to it's obvious intentions.

Instead of a physic attack, what he really wanted to do in his sudden anger was to form a dimensional bubble and get rid of them, but he wasn't getting the time and with their now scattered positions around him, he couldn't do it without getting himself in it!

"Get off me!" With a fist, he nailed the side of the Pokémon's head, managing to knock the thing aside so he could get up…just in time to see the flash of another electric bolt, nearly sending him to the floor again! Damn these creatures! Keeping himself on one knee, he focused on the three electric Pokémon and waved his hand, willing a quick spatial disruption to rip down the hall, knocking all of them over and ending their build-up of charge.

Facing the lone human woman: "Now you, Sally, you're going to join…"

"No you don't!"

From behind, the Poke-language enraged scream grabbed his attention, but it was too late to dodge the charging wartortle as it crashed into his side with its hard shell, knocking him across the hall. The sharp pain as he was crushed against the wall was nearly crippling, only to be further reinforced when the infernal creature followed up with a water pulse!

Clenching his teeth, he summoned all his rage to land a solid blow to the blue Pokémon's head yet again, forcing it away before releasing another spatial disruption, one that would ensure the accursed thing _would_ stay down. But even in the few seconds that took, the pikachu, elekid and electabuzz were all back on their feet on the other side of him, all already charging themselves for another attack…

And he was now soaked!

"All together, thunderbolt!" Sally commanded.

This was no good! He was tired, his ribs were hurting incredibly, and he couldn't bring his attacks to bear fast enough; unless he got the few seconds he needed to form the dimensional bubble, he wasn't going to win this! For the longest time, it had been nearly inconceivable that he would ever allow himself to be put into a position where his one weakness could be exploited: to be attacked quickly, without warning, and relentlessly! His most effective attacks simply needed time to form!

Releasing his own thunderbolt only distracted two of the three remaining Pokémon; the elekid still gave him as good as he got, and only through grim determination did he start stumbling toward the gate room. If he could get in and seal the door, he would get the few seconds to form the bubble! Kicking the already recovering wartortle out of the way, he almost reached it…

A primal scream only just preceded the heavy impact from behind that sent him crashing to the floor.

"You'll pay for what you did!" the electabuzz yelled as it hopped up, preparing it's fists that were crackling with electrical energy.

Yet another spatial disruption at point-blank range sent the yellow and black electric type flying backward to hit hard against the opposite wall. The attack was certainly effective, but he wasn't going to be able to manage many more…his strength was already ebbing…fast! Managing one more disruption down the hall forced everyone else to the floor, buying him enough time to get to the doors and hit the open switch. They started sliding open…

"Pi…ka…_chu_!"

With horror, he realized too late his last attack missed the small yellow mouse Pokémon with it being so close to the floor; the oversized charge of electricity surged through him like an unstoppable flood, and he barely had any strength afterward to kick it away…

* * *

Leo felt his strength quickly ebbing. Unable to stand any longer, he tried to avoid merely collapsing in going to all fours and laying down gently, especially with Celebi still on his head. Normally she wasn't heavy, but she was feeling like she was now made of stone.

"Tired…" she mumbled.

"Need…fresh air," Grovyle said, going to his knees before leaning against the dimensional wall for support.

"There's no way out of this…is there?" Blaze asked, his words becoming slow.

Leo didn't want to answer him. Instead, he thought about what they had in their satchels. They had various berries, but he doubted an oran berry was going to do anything against a lack of oxygen. The knife certainly wasn't going to help, nor would the iron thorns. Everything else was equally useless. So much for the utility of what they brought with them from the Poke world.

Obviously not knowing any of that, Grovyle crawled and reached for one of the satchels anyway, tipping it upside-down and spilling it's contents in a small mound. The small black sack of coins made a nice jingle, but otherwise it was as he already thought: nothing useful, including the small flash bomb the green Pokémon was now grasping questioningly.

He told him what it was, but Grovyle still kept it, apparently not bothering to let go as he just laid down on the hard floor, appearing moments from blacking out.

There was, however, perhaps one chance. If he agreed to be Kol's "amusement", he maybe could deal to have the rest of them spared. But what kind of life would they have in a world ruled by Kol's kind though? The human-Pokémon didn't seem completely bad at least, unlike how Darkrai was. If Kol had been like him, he would have killed them immediately. So perhaps, there was a slight chance yet…

Finally putting his back against the wall of the bubble, Blaze quickly slid down it, his tail ending up between his legs, barely twitching. "Leo…this isn't how I thought it would end. After saving the worlds twice, another time was…too many, huh?" Grinning weakly, "I guess, up to… someone else now."

Leo grimaced, watching Grovyle as he, with obvious great effort, crawled to where his human self sat, looking as weak as the rest of them. He laid down again by his human partner.

Loyalty. He remembered that of him. Grovyle was always by his side in the lab as chaos ruled in the final months of the other timeline. Even perhaps saved his life when a desperate armed man broke into the building, looking for anything to survive with.

He made up his mind: when Kol returned, he would ask for the deal. It was either that, or they were dead. But if that human-Pokémon took much longer…

His vision was blurring, and it wasn't from the distortion of the dimensional wall. Shouting out to the technicians in the room for all he was worth, which wasn't much, they seemed to pay him no heed…not even the Professor.

* * *

Kol fell forward through the large opening steel doors, virtually spent. With a well-planted foot, he just forced himself to the side, hitting the close and lock buttons just before collapsing to the hard floor, but not feeling it.

He woke up staring at the wall.

How long? Seeing the gate with power activated but no other activity, it couldn't had been more then a few seconds…or was it a few minutes? Shaking with weakness, he crawled to his feet, relieved to see at least he was still the only one in the room, the doors remaining locked and sealed. But there was a bigger worry; being knocked out for however long meant losing some control… Not only that, if that researcher Sally and her Pokémon couldn't get into the gate room, then logically their next target would be…

Bracing against the wall, he slammed the intercom button. "Activate the gate now!"

* * *

Leo Hanson felt something change through his oxygen-deprived senses. For one, the air got significantly cooler. It also smelled fresher, was less humid and after a few seconds, his vision was losing it's blurriness. Gulping in the fresh air almost instinctively, he tried getting himself at least into a crawling position, the Pokémon beside him doing the same.

"The bubble is gone," his counterpart quietly pointed out from his own all-fours stance, surprise evident.

Quickly to his feet, Professor Werner was staring down at them from behind his console. "Well, this is unexpected. Kol must like you…"

Some beep from a speaker interrupted, a voice screaming: "Activate the gate now!"

"Kol looks like he's been attacked!" one of the technicians closest to the windows shouted.

Immediately the Professor and the technicians set about hitting buttons and tapping keys.

Barely getting himself up, Blaze took in a breath and tried a flamethrower attack, but the weak flames died only a couple feet from his mouth. He screeched something Poke speech.

Leo tried standing next, but found his strength was just a little too slow in returning. After a few more deep breaths, he at least could stand and stumble forward…and charged the Professor, knocking both of them to the floor.

"What are you doing? Get off me, Leo!"

Leo fought as the much older man struggled weakly underneath him, the Pokémon recovering quickly enough to surround them and face off against the other technicians, preventing any of them from interfering.

"This gate has to be shut down!" He wanted to argue further and perhaps get the Pokémon to start doing some damage, but the door opening made him jerk. At first, he whipped his head around in preparing to face Kol again for however much good it would do, but instead a familiar fake blonde walked in, followed quickly by four also familiar, though tired-looking, Pokémon… "Sally!", exclaiming in unison with his Pokémon counterpart.

Apparently the technicians decided it was too much as they all started retreating out of the room through the other door.

He was sure the oxygen deprivation was slowing his thought process, since he stood up and tried to figure out how she could be there…or maybe it was all an illusion. From the looks of Grovyle, Celebi, Blaze and his Pokémon counterpart, they seemed equally surprised. But however she was there, he was very happy to see her!

"Quit staring," she told them. "Did you really think I was just going to sit at the boat and wait?" cocking her head as she walked up to him.

"You…followed us?" For once, he was darned glad he wasn't listened to!

"Of course."

Despite being all sweaty and Sally looking the same, he embraced her with a long grateful hug…and maybe just a little beyond grateful. "You're amazing."

"I know," replying with a grin after they separated. "But when I heard what Kol said over the radio, I knew we needed to get in here right away to save all of you."

He wanted to laugh, but felt confused. "Over the radio?"

Tapping the small unit pined to her red shirt: "I heard everything he told you, about why he built this gate. Good idea keeping it transmitting during that."

"You did?" his counterpart asked, looking him over and obviously wondering where the unit was.

Now he felt completely confused. Reaching in the top of his one pocket, he yanked it out from it's tight fit with some effort, his pocket knife sliding out with it and hitting the floor… Realization then hit him about how the knife had been positioned: so tight was the fit, it had kept the transmit pressed the whole time!

"We attacked Kol downstairs and drove him into the gate room I think," Sally continued, looking around the room. "He locked the door and we couldn't get in, but…this the control room?"

"I said activate the gate!" an insistent voice yelled over a speaker.

With both Grovyle and Blaze restraining the Professor, he located the intercom. Finally feeling some semblance of relief, he tapped the reply key: "Sorry, but there won't be any gate activation today…or ever."

* * *

Kol stared at the intercom in disbelief, then up at the windows overlooking from the control room. Both Leo Hanson and Sally appeared there along with several Pokémon; none of his technicians could be seen…

Gritting his teeth, he fought off the instant urge to send the strongest spatial distortion he could straight up at them; he didn't have the strength at the moment, and it would likely do more damage to the equipment up there than the Pokémon anyway, even if it could get through the thick glass.

How could he have conceived of this outcome? How could such a small series of oversights have led to him losing control of the gate like this? Giving the door an enraged pound with his fist, he resolved that he hadn't lost yet. He only needed time, time to recover more of his strength so he could unleash dimensional bubbles…or better, and not play around this time!

Still, just in case he couldn't defeat them…

Waiting until they weren't watching anymore, he walked across the room and swung open the metal door to one of the storage cabinets where a diagnostic terminal was located, it's small screen showing the command prompt active for the core system. He sighed; it wasn't the outcome he wanted, but if he couldn't regain control of the gate, there was no choice but to implement the emergency program now before they could get access to the equipment vital to the gate's operation. Unfortunately, the price was going to be high…

After typing in the lengthy command and password, he watched just long enough to verify the first automated procedures were initializing before reclosing the door and hearing a pounding coming from the double gate-room doors. With relief, he found Terrace outside, along with the security rhydon and a looking-worse-for-wear breloom and staravia, the later chirping it's desire for revenge.

"I checked the security monitors and saw you in _here_ and Leo Hanson up _there_," Terrace explained with some surprise, pointing upwards. "How did they get control from you?"

"Leo's friends ambushed me on the way down here," he snarled back, also thinking how long he could wait before storming the control room. At least with Terrance and his own Pokémon present, it would make it slightly easier. "We need to get rid of them all before they render the gate inoperable. But we have another reason to hurry." He hoped his look back toward the cabinet was enough of a clue to his closest agent to tell him what was up.

Indeed, Terrace nodded grimly in apparent understanding. "Will it work? You only finished the coding this morning."

"Don't worry, it's working." Leaving the gate room, he resealed it before leading the way down the hall toward the stairwell, hoping he'd recovered enough. He was going to complete his mission…one way or another.

* * *

Leo tried helping Sally get the gate powered down, but most the controls and displays made no sense to him. What little he did remember of the technology used in the University's gate seemed to be just a little different in Derganio's version. In short, he was useless.

Sally touched a button, only to be met with another beep telling of an invalid action. "Damn it, which of these combinations is the…oh no!"

Following her gaze down through the windows into the gate room, his heart skipped a beat.

"Leo…he's gone!"

His human self was busy arguing with the Professor to help shut down everything, finally replying with a "What?"

"I just saw Kol leave down there," Sally said. "There was another man with him, maybe that Terrace guy, and some Pokémon. He could be coming up here for another round!

Leo was almost proud of his other self in coming to a quick decision: "Sally, stay here with…uh…Pikachu and Elekid," pointing to each of them on his way to the door. "If we don't stop them in the hall, have them start destroying everything in here! Grovyle, Blaze, everyone else, out in the hall now!"

The Professor started shouting in protest.

"Be really careful!" Sally said, the worry on her face plain as they all left the room, Elekid and Pikachu staying behind as told.

The wait wasn't long; no sooner had Blaze closed the door behind them then Kol left the stairwell. The human with scarred hands was with him, as was a worn-looking breloom and staravia…but a very fresh-looking rhydon! From it's large well-muscled bulk, the flexing of the claws at the end of it arms, to it's menacing scowl, was enough to speak how tough it was going to be to defeat. In fact, apparently fixing his gaze on him, it formed a mean smile…

And not forgetting what Kol could do: "Spread out!" Hopefully, if the human-Pokémon was going to use another dimensional bubble, it would be more difficult to get all of them if they were scattered, if his thinking was right. Of course they could only spread out so far in a ten-foot-wide hall.

Seemingly gritting his teeth, the white-haired Kol seemed to look everyone over, his expression carrying not just anger, but frustration as well, Leo guessed. He also looked a touch tired.

"Leo Hanson…both of you: get out of my way or I will kill you and your Pokémon. I'm done being lenient." The fatigue in his voice was hard to miss.

"I'm not letting you wreck havoc on this planet," Leo heard his human self reply behind him, barely any hit of nervousness in his.

"We're going to avenge Dialga and Palkia!" Celebi added with a shout.

He admired both Celebi's and his human self's sudden bravado. Adding his own: "If saving this world means stopping you, then one way or another it's going to end here."

Blaze nodded agreement, whispering a "We'll do it this time," as he moved forward a little, spreading their ranks even more.

"I will also see to it you're stopped," Grovyle growled.

Kol huffed. "Your right, it will end here…one…way…or…another…"

The words became slurred, only it wasn't the human-Pokémon slurring; from nowhere, an intense pain and a now familiar feeling of fear invaded his mind, and instinctively grabbing his head did no good…he couldn't block out it out! He wanted to charge, attack Kol and end it, but he couldn't stop himself from backing up…anything to get away and hide!

From the side a green arm moved, throwing something. A flash of brilliant light resulted and while he was blinded, he heard Kol screaming in what sounded like agony…the pain and fear ended abruptly!

It took a moment, but on regaining some of his vision, he saw the human-Pokémon with his hands covering his eyes and crouching in obvious pain!

Which was odd, a flash-bomb shouldn't cause injury… But he wasn't going to question it! Without another thought and his vision clearing, he leapt straight for him…

The hard slam in mid-air caught him off guard; splaying his legs and arms on the floor, he tried keeping himself from rolling over onto his back as the rhydon stayed on top, pushing him across the smooth floor and close to the wall. Slugging the grey Pokémon on the side of it's head with his fist only caused it to lower it's longer horn and point it straight at his stomach!

On pure instinct his mouth filled with water and he quickly shot it out with all he had. At point-blank range, the effect on the rhydon was impressive as it belatedly shielded it's face and stood up to stumble backward, landing on it's own side with a roar.

The brief respite allowed him to get up and see Electabuzz and Wartortle already charging down the hall toward the breloom and the staravia that were struggling to mount attacks. And Kol…he looked to be recovering…

With a flash, Celebi popped into existence behind him. Wrapping his head with her arms, she made him stay off-balance for just a little longer, though behind them and rushing past Electabuzz and Wartortle, the burned-hands human, Terrace, was closing in on her. Blaze was already moving apparently to help, before stopping as the rhydon was getting up. Lowering it's head, he looked about to charge.

"Blaze, help Celebi!" Leo shouted just before trying to get another water-pulse ready, but the rhydon was already charging horn-first from only a few feet away!

A green streak went behind the rhino-like Pokémon and with a screech, the rhydon almost went crashing to the floor again from a strategic hit to the back of his leg. It howled with not just pain, but anger as well and in a surprising bit of speed, swung around to nail Grovyle with it's massive tail. Literally flying sideways, Grovyle slammed hard into concrete wall, falling immediately to the floor.

Finishing it's swing and looking even meaner, "You and me, swampert," the rhydon spat, pointing between them. Then without any sign of tensing or bracing, it charged, horns leveled!

The time to cover perhaps eight feet was short. The time to gather water in his mouth and dodge properly was just slightly longer. But it was enough to at least dodge the horns, he was thankful as the rhydon knocked him backward and again nearly onto his back, it's longer horn just grazing his shoulder! Nearly head-to-head, it's strong musky earth-like odor was almost overpowering.

With adrenaline-fueled strength, he slammed his fist down hard onto the back of the Pokémon's skull while spurting as much water as fast as he could into it's face. The rhydon didn't let go. Instead, twisting it's head, it succeeded in pointing it's one horn perilously close to his neck!

With extreme effort, he got an arm around it's neck and using his other hand, started forcing the horn away, one inch at a time and twisting his own body around even to the point of his rear fin bending against the floor to land a hard kick into it's side.

It roared in obvious pain but still, it wasn't budging!

In the background, he caught a glimpse of Blaze still battling hand-to-hand with Terrance and Celebi struggling with Kol, apparently doing something to sort of stun him, but not to great effect. Then with flames, Blaze got the human to momentarily back away. At once, the infernape made a move toward him and the rhydon.

"Help Celebi!" Leo struggled to shout as the rhydon redoubled his efforts to give him a piece of it's large horn.

Blaze stopped, indecision evident.

"Help her! Keep Kol occupied!" Kol was without a doubt, their single biggest worry, but the rhydon was trying hard to change that. With a massive grunt, it forced it's head to the side, raised it, and poised it's long horn straight at his throat!

One, two, three kicks into it's side was doing nothing as the raw strength of the larger and much heavier Pokémon was becoming very evident. Half on his back, he knew he was also at positional disadvantage, one that the rhydon was now taking full advantage of!

A last, desperate water pulse caused the creature to grimace and roar, but instead of backing off, it started coming down with it's horn instead. With much of it's weight behind it, even releasing the hold on it's neck and using both tiring arms couldn't hold it back any longer! Inch by inch, it came to nearly touch his throat…

With an insane yell, someone came crashing hard against the Pokémon's side and back. So concentrated on keeping the horn at bay, it took a moment before he recognized his human self was wrapping his arms around the creature's neck.

The rhydon's eyes went wide as it gave a gasp, nostril's flaring in an obvious struggle for breath as his human self looked to be using all his strength in tightening his grip and pulling back. It gagged once, twice, then with a quick motion, swung an arm back, knocking the human half over it's back, but also shifting it's balance…

Immediately releasing one hand, he combined a desperate kick, punch and water-pulse, forcing the rhydon to finally collapse onto it's side. His human self releasing his hold and running out of the way, Leo jumped on top to start giving the creature both fists.

Yet, it just wasn't enough! With one strong heave, the massive creature lifted him up and swinging a clawed-arm, clobbered him square in the chest, knocking him to the floor!

"I will _not_ be beaten by any water-type!" it raged and again, lowered it's head and horns while snorting wildly!

"Then how about a grass type!" Right on his last word, Grovyle rose behind him and let loose into the back of it with all his leaf blades.

With a near-shriek, the rhydon collapsed, holding it's legs as best it could.

"Leo!"

Panting heavily from exhaustion and the hit to his chest, he whipped around, following the finger of his human self in time to witness Kol first give Blaze a hard elbow into his stomach, then yank Celebi off his head, throwing her hard into the concrete wall where she immediately fell. Then leveling his arm, a pale white arc started flying…

With shock, he recognized the attack as one of Palkia's! The spatial rend disruption didn't feel like it hit his chest quite as hard as the rhydon did, but taking the hit in exactly the same spot, he found himself again on the floor, almost balled up in excruciating pain.

Blaze screamed and still holding his stomach, released intense, bright flames from his mouth straight at Kol…

Still gripping one leg, the rhydon rose and went charging into the flames, blocking them from reaching the Pokemon-human. It roared a strange, agonized howl, and when the flames were exhausted, finally collapsed for what looked like good. But from behind, Terrace was making his own charge with a yell straight toward Blaze…

From further down the hall, a bright flash erupted as the electric bolt nailed the human square in the back, taking him down. Leo suddenly hoped Electabuzz was coming back to help, but he obviously wasn't done yet with the breloom and likewise, Wartortle was still engaged with the staravia.

He started struggling to get up as fast as he could, but Kol quickly took advantage of the absence of any attack, releasing his own electrical bolt into Blaze. He watched helplessly as Blaze became enveloped briefly by the charge before collapsing himself.

Then swinging back around with his long-white hair flying, the human-Pokémon created another spatial rend.

Leo couldn't avoid it. Stronger than the last, it hit hard and he hardly knew he was hitting the floor before he was already down. The intense pain followed only a couple seconds later, threatening to black him out. But from the corner of his vision, he saw the attack at least was blocked from hitting his human self. Somehow, he found the strength to painfully, slowly, get himself back up at least onto all fours...

"You've all been a pain," Kol spat, rage seemingly burning in his eyes. "I'm feeling strong enough again that I won't bother with a dimensional bubble this time. Dialga gave a great gift to my kind… Now suffer it!" Raising a hand over his head, it became bathed in a bright purplish light…

His heart jumped; he knew that light. He'd seen it only a few times before, being the near recipient of it twice… If it was as powerful as what Dialga had unleashed against them at the very top of a crumbling Temporal Tower, it could very well kill them all!

Quickly glancing around, Grovyle and Celebi were down, Blaze was struggling to get up, Electabuzz and Wartortle were too far down the hall…

In seemingly slow motion, Kol swung his arm down, aiming his brightly glowing hand toward…

There was no time to think – only react; he was closest to Kol and as the beam of intense temporal energy that was Roar of Time started leaving his hand, he leapt up and straight into it, meeting it head-on. Only after the beam enveloped him, did he realize what his action meant for him…

* * *

Leo Hanson was trembling as he crouched, heart pounding as he only hoped to avoid the coming attack he realized in a instant was aimed straight at him! He had no idea what the purplish light represented, but from Kol's rage he guessed it wasn't good. Of course as a mere human, he wouldn't stand much chance if it was powerful enough. As the hybrid's hand flared, a massive beam started taking form…

He started moving out of the way with a jerk but in front and from the side, a blue-skinned Pokémon with purple fins leapt right into it.

Just getting up himself, Blaze screamed from the background as the purple beam enveloped the swampert's form, holding him up off the floor as the energy was blocked from going any further. For two…three…four pounding heartbeats, the energy blast continued before dissipating with the attack running it's course, and the swampert fell heavily to the floor. Staggering backward, Kol tripped and fell, panting hard with a surprised look about him.

Leo froze, staring in disbelief at his counterpart's unmoving form only a few feet before him while Blaze was still screaming, now in ear-deafening rage as the red and yellow hair of his mane puffed to extreme proportions. With a leapt, the infernape slammed Kol completely to the floor and started pummeling him…

He wanted to both join in on beating Kol…and preventing the Pokémon from hurting him to the point of critical injury. Yet he could only stare as all energy felt like it was draining from him. His counterpart…_dead?_ If he had a grave, a ghost was dancing on it…

Narrowing his eyes, he at once concluded Kol had to answer for what he did. Killing him would accomplish that…wouldn't it? Certainly, he was too dangerous to let live…

But could he do it? Or could he allow him to be killed? The hybrid already looked to be unconscious.

Hastily getting up, he rushed over, grabbing the infernape from behind and yanking him off. "It's over! He's beaten!"

The infernape continued screaming and started kicking powerfully in trying to break free, nearly taking both of them to the floor, but Leo kept his grip tight around the Pokémon's shoulders. "Blaze, it's over! Let the police handle him!" Except…how would anyone be able to control Kol? He had such power, how could any prison hold him? Maybe…he really should allow…

But Blaze suddenly stopped struggling and he let him fall to the floor. In sudden sobbing, the infernape crawled over to his partner and just laid next to him…

His counterpart's form was…so still.

Around them, he gradually grew aware the corridor looked even more smashed up than it did before. Grovyle and the rhydon were both on the floor, one barely conscious and the other completely out. Celebi was at the base of one wall, looking stunned. Kol's partner was also out as was the breloom, with the large staravia just receiving a knockout blow from a combined water and electric attack from Wartortle and Electabuzz.

He wished there was something, anything he could do for Blaze, but there was nothing. Feeling something trickle down his face, his hand came away a little red; that's right, the rhydon had hit him pretty good. But at the moment his own partner needed help and he went to Grovyle's side as Sally, Elekid and Pikachu came running out of the control room.

Sally looked around, silently, apparently stunned.

"We beat him," answering her unspoken question. "But…" He looked at his counterpart again, Blaze continuing to sob beside him.

She was silent for a long moment, her face transforming from worry into shock. "Is he…"

Well, he hadn't actually confirmed his counterpart was dead yet, but the attack looked powerful… Was that why he jumped in - to block it? "I…think so." It was easy to say, but no doubt the gravity of his counterpart's fate would hit him soon.

"Gro…"

Grovyle responded weakly as he and Sally helped him up. Waving his hands, the Pokémon seemed to insist he would be alright and left their arms to go to the fallen swampert, joining all the other Pokémon as they gathered around, including an unsteady Celebi.

Much hushed whispering went around, only with Blaze now silent save for many tears…

"Leo, the Professor fainted a couple minutes ago," Sally informed before rushing back into the control room.

Fainted? The Professor? For a moment, he was torn between staying with his counterpart and going to help tend to the Professor. One he probably couldn't help, the other he probably could…

Just moving to follow Sally, he was stopped by an excited shout from Pikachu. In a passing glimpse, he had seen it too: a slight twitch of a blue arm. Rushing through the crowd of Pokémon, he knelt by his counterpart and after feeling carefully: "He's breathing!" The Pokémon at once started chattering excitedly with Blaze's eyes going wide, hope back in his face.

Indeed, after a few moments, his counterpart did more than just breathe - he came fully to.

"Hey, how are you feeling there?" Leo asked, feeling almost more relief than he could handle.

The blue water-type Pokémon let out an almost silent moan. Almost inaudibly: "That…was…a…_big_ truck."

He nearly collapsed with laugher, but remembering the Professor, got up and hurried into the control room, feeling relieved for a second time on seeing John sitting up. Together with Sally, he helped him into one of the chairs.

After a gentle shake of his head and looking very much confused after glancing between them, "Sally, Leo. What…happened?"

"We defeated Kol," Leo answered. "This gate's in our control now."

"Are you going to be alright?" Sally asked. "I have some water in my pack."

Grimacing and seemingly breaking into a cold sweat, the Professor shook his head again. "Kol, he…I think he has telepathic powers. Shot us with drugs to make us more susceptible. He was controlling me, controlling all of us! But then…" Now looking up in surprise: "You said you defeated him?"

Leo jabbed his thumb toward the door. "He's in the hall, out cold. Blaze gave him a pretty good beating, but Sally softened him up first."

Shaking, the Professor stood by bracing himself on the nearest console, attempting to look out the open door, but Kol couldn't be seen from where they were. Instead, Blaze came quickly bounding in, plucked some berries from one of the satchels, and bounded back out. "His control must have been…broken," before giving a quick look around the room.

"The others fled, remember?"

"I remember…everything, actually." Sitting back down heavily, "Leo, Sally, please believe me. If I wasn't being controlled, I would never have helped that man!"

* * *

Two sitrus berries in Blaze's hand appeared in front of him – the only two they brought from the Poké world, to be used for emergencies only. As conversations between everyone continued, Leo started downing the large, mild-tasting yellow fruit in large bites. The fast-acting drug effect hit within moments, at least to the point where he thought he could stand again.

"I thought you were…gone," Blaze said, sounding somewhere between happy and crying. "_Why did you do that?_"

Of course, so did he! On finishing the last of the powerful strength-restoring fruit, "What would that attack have done to a human?"

Blaze huffed, shaking his head. "Selfless as always."

In getting up, there was no shortage of offered hands, but Blaze and Grovyle ended up on either side of him and helped lift him slowly. Shaky at first, the sitrus berries continued to do their job as he felt himself rapidly gaining additional strength. Now in finally getting a good look around, he saw the result of their battle: three Pokémon, one human, and one human-Pokémon all out and scattered up and down the corridor. The smell of sweaty Pokémon in the confined space was near overpowering, too.

"Think they'll give us any more trouble?" Grovyle asked.

"The breloom certainly won't be," Electabuzz quipped, cracking a joint in his hand.

"Neither will the staravia or that other human," Wartortle added.

"What about this one?" Elekid asked, tapping his foot against Kol.

Blaze frowned, visibly tightening his fist. "Not for a long time, I think. If he does, I'll finish what I started!"

Leo wasn't sure what his friend meant by that, but judging from the bruises a trickles of blood on the white-haired being… Maybe best not to ask what happened after he was knocked out. "Let's go in the control room, see if the humans need any help getting the gate…shut down for good." Although he wondered just what the best way to keep it that way was.

"And destroyed," Celebi added.

Several of them sported sudden grins, Electabuzz and Elekid exchanging quick sparks between their fists as they left the smashed hall and headed for the room.

Sally was using the radio, calling Harry and telling him to move the boat around to their side of the island while Leo slowly moved to join her and his human self near the Professor, who greeted him with a smile.

"So you are the ones who stopped Kol," the old human asked, indicating both him and Blaze.

"It was a group effort," Leo replied. Sure, he blocked the Roar of Time blast, but he didn't know how much more effort it took to bring Kol down after that. No doubt Blaze would fill him in later. But in the mean time: "Are you going to help permanently shut down this gate now?" Not that he had high hopes considering what the old man had told them before.

His human self flashed him an annoyed look as the Professor nodded. "I think I'm recovered enough to do that."

"Recovered?" He got the impression there was something he was missing. After his other self quickly filled him in on the Professor being not just drugged, by telepathically controlled by Kol: "Oh." He should had guessed!

* * *

Kol could barely see anything, but remembered the swampert's hazy form getting up and leaving the hall with everyone else. Then nothing. Now there was the blurry image of someone's face over him.

"We have to get out of here…"

The whispering voice sounded familiar…Terrace. He felt his arms grasped, then the sensation of being dragged. His senses were dull and thoughts slow in coming, but one question he concentrated on: how did the swampert, Leo's Pokémon form, survive? At that range, the temporal shear that was Roar of Time should've killed him, especially in the beaten-down condition he was in. His attack was surely as powerful as Dialga's, so how…

Fighting fading consciousness, he was barely aware that he was being carried down the stairs as he pondered the question. To resist temporal shear, one had to have some temporal ability. A swampert certainly didn't have anything like that. It didn't make sense…

Around a corner and down yet another hall, they finally went through some doors to arrive outside the research building. A shield…? That had to be it! The small distortion around him as a result of being from a different timeline…it must had afforded him some kind of protection, however minute.

He would need to remember that if there ever was a next time…

…though there likely wouldn't be.

Barely smiling, the bright sunlight outside slowly faded until blackness once again surrounded him.

* * *

Leo looked on as Sally and his human self worked with the Professor in working the various consoles to get the gate to power down.

"So…are we going to destroy this thing or not?" Blaze asked.

"Yeah, isn't that why we're here?" Electabuzz added, hands on his hips and otherwise acting impatient.

He thought he knew the answer but then, he hadn't heard any discussion yet of what, exactly, they planned to do after the power down. "You don't want to destroy it while power is still surging through it," he answered simply. "Would be dangerous."

"_Then_ we get to fry it?" Pikachu asked, a broad, wicked smile appearing on his small pudgy face.

Maybe he better make sure… "How are we going to destroy it?" asking out loud in human speech.

All three humans glanced back at him together, then at each other before all starting to speak at the same time, each with clearly different words. Finally, the Professor spoke: "Once we have everything powered down, we can simply drain all the coil coolant out. That'll render it inoperative."

"I'd like to see it never having any chance of getting up and running again," Sally said, brushing her long blonde hair back as she stood up from leaning over the console. "Like by destroying the maser coils and slicing every wire and cable there is."

"There's a lot of them," the Professor warned. "More than in our gate."

"We could do both," Leo's human self suggested. "Drain the coolant, break the lines and fry some of the coils. Maybe smash control boards too, just like we planned for our gate. I'm sure the computers could stand having their data erased for good measure."

The Professor stared back, frozen for a second. "What?"

"Derganio took over our gate this last week," Sally said.

"That part I know. I was forced to give them access after they had me under their control."

"Right. So we planned to sabotage the gate to prevent them from using it and causing the disaster."

Leo's human self continued: "That's when Dialga and Palkia showed up and took on Kol. The rest I think you overheard. Kol was simply using our project as a ruse."

"Oh…that bastard. Well, let's get this thing shut down first. See that readout on the third screen? Set the second coil circuit down to…"

"So, I guess we truly won then," Blaze said, his eyes starting to glaze as the humans continued talking tech. "We prevented the disaster…which was going to be Kol's people invading?"

Leo shrugged. "Seems that way."

"That would've have been a true disaster," Grovyle said, shaking his head that had almost more bruise than skin. "Thousands of humans like Kol roaming around?"

Celebi flew closer to float around their heads. "I would've gone back in time, dear. Brought _you_ with me!" She smiled, though it appeared to hurt to do so, sporting a nice sized bruise of her own.

Leo ran to one of their satchels, grabbing the last of the oran berries.

Hissing, Electabuzz frowned severely. "That human…er, Pokémon…_thing_. How disgusting."

"We would've have been doomed," Elekid piped in.

Leo couldn't disagree. Something akin to facing untold numbers of Dialgas and Palkias combined. Which reminded him, they never did get an real answer as to what exactly happened to the two ancient dragons. Maybe on second thought, it was better that way. As long as they didn't know, he could still hope they were still alive somewhere…

"Alright, final command given," the Professor announced. "Complete power down underway."

Together, the three humans left the consoles to stand by everyone else. "So, you guys ready to do a little wrecking?" Leo's human self asked, flexing a fist and wearing a broad grin.

"We probably should tie Kol and Terrace up too before they come too," Sally added.

Leo cheered with the others in giving a loud affirmative and started following the others in approaching the door to the corridor, though he noticed the Professor glancing back before he quickly returned to one of the consoles, looking slightly puzzled. "Huh?" Everyone stopped as he tapped a few screens, bringing up other displays.

"What is it?" Sally asked, already with hand on the door control.

The Professor didn't answer for several seconds while typing something in and observing. Even from the side, Leo could see the growing confusion on his face. "It's not powering down. In fact…power levels are _rising_; one hundred and two percent already." Something beeped, grabbing his immediate attention. "Main coil switches just activated! Everything's on automatic all of the sudden…" The old human's alarm was obvious.

Leo rushed back with his human self and Sally to the one console, seeing the graphic display for himself before feeling a tap. Following Blaze's finger through the windows and to the gate below, he saw the barely visible grayish cloud forming in the very center of the ring.

Even not remembering most of the theory of dimensional portals, he knew that wasn't good…


	19. Chapter 19: Disaster

**Chapter 19: Disaster**

Leo Hanson grimaced in studying the electrical flow diagrams: power was not only reaching the main power coils, but was indeed increasing. Yet a different screen showed the secondary control coils still off-line. What kind of activation was this? Without the secondary coils, a defined portal couldn't be formed…

"That isn't normal, is it?"

His counterpart's shout got their attention, and looking at the gate below…

"Dimensional disturbance already forming…" Sally mumbled.

"That's no mere portal," he furthered in alarm, noticing the cloud brightening and almost forming a sphere.

Letting out a hurried sigh, the Professor rapidly typed another command into the computer, getting back a negative beep. After moving to another, more serious looking console that appeared to do with power sources, "The generators aren't responding either, they're looked at full output. I can't shut anything down; the controls are locked out!"

"Main coil power at one-hundred _three_ percent," Sally said, reading from the flow diagram and sounding more alarmed now.

Leo tried to think: why couldn't they shut it down? What was all this power going to do? "Professor, is there a program running?"

The white-haired sixty-some year old man stared off into the distance for a moment before moving to a third console. After a few commands into the computer, Leo saw the implications in the results without needing any interpretation.

* * *

"Leo, that cloud is getting brighter," Blaze said from the windows, drawing the rest of the Pokémon there to have a look themselves.

As his human self's face started draining of color, Leo decided he better get his blue body to the third console with Sally. A lot of technology was still eluding his understanding, and although he could read the words and numbers as being something designed to be increasing, he just couldn't quite interpret the implication. "What's does this mean?"

"It's been programmed to go into overload," the Professor returned, still typing but apparently not getting the desired response. "Damn! And we're locked out from the these systems too."

"What are these?" Sally asked, pointing to a peculiar set of numbers at the bottom.

"I think…coordinates. Oh damn, those control coils are going to kick in at some point!"

"In an _overload_ condition? That won't form just a mere portal!"

"I know, Sally!" The Professor gave another attempt on the keyboard before slamming his fist on it. "This has to be Kol's doing! Some emergency program or something he didn't tell me anything about!" More quietly: "So _this_ is was the 'last resort' option he was working on."

"What are they talking about?" Blaze asked, his expression mirroring that of the other Pokémon. Leo thought quickly as to how best to explain it given his own limited understanding: "I think if there is too much dimensional disruption energy, and suddenly the control frequency is switched on…" What would happen anyway? "…it'd be bad." If anything, the looks from both Sally and his human self said he was understating it.

Overhead, a red light started flashing as some computerized voice gave an urgent warning about the overload condition.

"It's what we took pains to try and prevent on our gate," his human self said. "Too much power is very bad. Maybe we can damage the gate still…"

"The doors down there are sealed," the Professor replied. "I can see the lock light from here," pointing through the windows. "Three inch thick steel, no Pokémon can get through that. Same with the walls and the windows."

"Then where are the generators?"

"They're geothermal; in a solid concrete bunker with restricted access; you won't be able to reach them either. Cables are buried and reinforced."

"This place is like a God-damned vault!" Sally exclaimed throwing her hands up.

"After what happened at the old site, Kol wanted this place built solid, he said."

Obviously, turning off the power would be the best solution, but if they couldn't get at the source… "How does the power get from the generators to the gate?" Leo asked.

"Or where are the breakers," his human self added, suddenly sounding hopeful.

The Professor grimaced as he suddenly fixated at the screen showing the program continuing to run.

"Professor?"

"They…ah, building and gate power are mostly separate. The gate's breakers are in the room just past the gate room. Uh…all of you should go with him. He might need help…there's a lot of breakers."

"How much time do we have?" Sally asked.

A grimace spread across the old human's face. "Twelve minutes, it's counting down. You better hurry."

* * *

Leo Hanson didn't need to be told twice. With everyone else save for the Professor following, he raced out of the room, down the hall and the stairs (barely noticing Kol and his companions were gone) while the Professor's voice came over the building's intercom, ordering an evacuation. Hopefully it would prove unnecessary after they cut all the power…

Reaching the door well past the gate room's, he punched the door control, his heart skipping a beat when nothing happened!

Sally tried too, getting the same result. "Maybe we can…"

Pounding the door proved it was (very) solid steel and leaving little doubt any of the Pokémon could anything against it.

Sally keep at the door control to no avail, eventually backing up and pulling him with her. "Alright everyone, attack this door and the wall with everything you got!"

Holding some hope, he watched with a detached fascination as the Pokémon worked together in attacking the bulkhead with electric, fire, water and leaf-blade attacks. Still, the door came through without some much as a scorch mark!

Sally sighed, bowing her head.

Hitting the door with the pad of his fist in frustration, he tried to think in the face of time running out. "So if we can't disrupt the power…"

"What were those coordinates to?" the swampert asked.

"I think we can assume Kol programmed it," Sally replied. "His world?"

"Which maybe means he set them to make sure some of his people could get through even if he wasn't here to make a controlled portal," Leo concluded.

Shaking her head and gesturing down to the gate room doors, "But to do it _this_ way…"

"What's going to happen?" his counterpart practically shouted, the other Pokémon giving questioning yips and shouts.

With the time foremost in his mind, he hurriedly explained: "This is all theoretical, but if you have too large a dimensional disturbance on when the control coils are switched on, whatever coordinates they're set for, the matter from that focus point could be transferred here…instantly."

"If the power coils don't explode first from the overload and create a dimensional tear, whatever exists here will be displaced, violently!" Sally added.

"The more power that is going through those coils when that happens, the bigger the area that'll be displaced," Leo continued, hoping to God the theories about that were wrong. "We definitely don't want to be _here_ when that happens!" He was pretty certain the Pokémon understood that, judging from their immediate nervous and scared reactions.

"How big an area?"

He grimaced at his counterpart's question. Would it affect just the island, or much more? "Hell if I know." Were there even equations for that?

"Leo, if we can't shut this off, then maybe we could change the coordinates?"

Facing Sally: "The Professor said we were locked out of the system."

"But with our gate, there was that initial system used for fine tuning frequency calibrations. It's supposed to be deactivated after everything was set, but it's a completely separate system. If they modeled this gate on ours, and it sort of looks like they did, and the system wasn't deactivated yet or it can be turned back on…"

Could they be that lucky? But that wouldn't stop the displacement from happening, only change what was going to do the displacing. It might foil Kol's plans though…and save the planet if the area displaced wasn't too large…

Still, changing the coordinates wasn't likely a matter of just seconds, and it's system was probably protected like the others, though maybe not to the same degree, being something designed to be a one-time use. But if the Professor could get access quickly enough, then it probably wouldn't take more than a few minutes to mess up the calibrations…though those few minutes could be crucial for getting enough distance away.

Grimly, he realized the choice that had to be made.

Even though the Professor might be the best choice, after everything he'd been through he deserved to get out alive…and if Kol's plan did end up succeeding, the information he had would be invaluable.

Strangely, he felt himself starting to smile. There really didn't need to be two Leo's around anyway…

Acting quickly before he could change his mind: "Sally, Leo, Blaze, everyone else, get to the dock, meet up with Harry and get out of here! I'll send the Professor out shortly." Starting down the hall, "Now hurry!"

"What are you going to do?" Sally asked, grabbing his arm.

"I'm going to mess up those calibrations!" Feeling a sharp pain in the bottom of his stomach from the reality of what had to be done, he pulled out of her grasp and ran down the hall before anyone could mount further argument. Pausing before the stairwell as his counterpart shouted something: "Take care of Sally for me."

Racing up the stairs, he prayed there was still enough time for them to get out before either the secondary coils kicked in, or the primaries blew and created a dimensional tear. He was going to miss everyone…especially Sally.

Damn that Kol.

* * *

Leo knew at once what his human self was doing. Even if he managed to change the coordinates, the displacement was still going to happen. He would be…

"What?" Sally returned, but the human already disappeared into the stairwell.

Blaze leapt in front, staring back and forth. "He's… going to sacrifice himself, isn't he?"

"Not if I can help it." Running for the stairwell, he heard everyone else following, making him both happy and sad. There was no sense for everyone to die here. Of course, somebody was probably going to have to stay behind, unless changing the coordinates was a very quick matter. A gut feeling told him it likely wasn't.

Arriving back in the second-floor hall expecting to have to charge into the control room, he instead found his human self pounding on it's door. Noticing everyone, he suddenly looked frustrated. "I said get out of here! None of you can do anything here!"

Leo ignored him, instead hurrying beside him and seeing through the door's small window the Professor quickly working at one of the consoles. He paused as the light streaming in through the windows briefly intensified, casting shadows on the rear wall. "I'm not going to leave you here."

"Neither am I!"

Blaze's words brought comfort as the Professor hit some other button and his voice came over the intercom once again: "Everyone is to evacuate this island immediately! Get as far away as you can! Ten minutes to secondary activation!"

"Like it or not, we're going to stay and do what we can," Sally said, with the other Pokémon looking just as determined.

Snaking his head and neck between Leo and the door to take a quick look, "Apparently in another timeline, I was willing to die to save the world," Grovyle said. "Perhaps it's just in my character."

The Professor was immediately at the door, though. "All of you, get out of here now!" his muffled voice yelled through the door. "The only thing I can do now is alter the calibration and change the coordinates to at least stop Kol's people from getting here. There's nothing any of you can do!"

So, the Professor was already one step ahead of them…

"You knew the breaker room was secure, didn't you?" his human self accused.

"I needed to get you out of here to stop you from being foolish. Go and live. It's been a honor working with you…all of you."

Grovyle tapped at the glass, his grimace saying as much that it would be too thick to get through.

Leo watched his human self pound on the door again with a growing desire to do the same. "Damn it, John! Unlock this door and let me help! Your knowledge of Kol's plans is too valuable to let you stay here and…"

"And that same knowledge is what will give me a better chance of stopping him here and now, Leo!" the Professor returned, already returning to one of the consoles.

Leo wanted to argue, but knew the professor had a point. From the lack of response from his human self, he knew he realized it too.

The old, grey-haired Professor typed something before giving a long glance through the window. "Leo, part of this is my fault. I helped make this happen and I _have_ to do what I can to prevent the worst of it. I've lived my life, but you have most of yours yet. Now go! You've got less than nine minutes. You have to go _now!_"

Grovyle grasped his human self's arm and started tugging.

* * *

Leo Hanson resisted his partner, caught between wanting to help and doing as the Professor ordered. Then a hand on his other arm…

"It's time to go," Sally whispered.

"Ree ree," Celebi added in a sad-sounding tone.

Taking a last look through the window, he finally let Grovyle tug him into running for the stairwell, Sally absorbing Elekid, Wartortle, Pikachu and Electabuzz back in their Pokéballs on the way.

One last warning from the Professor came over the intercom to abandon the island, but the halls were already empty. After racing outside and seeing the long dock down below, he saw where the dozens of Derganio people already went: a large boat was just pulling away with a loud multi-engine roar even as Harry was seconds from pulling his own boat up.

With heart now pounding, Leo swore he could feel precious seconds ticking away as they ran flat-out down the walkway to the boat. With a held hand and a jump, he helped Sally across just as Blaze and Grovyle leapt across the narrow gap, causing the boat to sway.

"What's going on?" Chris asked, bracing himself against the railing while pointing to the larger receding boat. "Are they supposed to be getting away?"

"We've got less than eight minutes to get twenty miles from here or we're all dead!" Leo yelled, heart pounding.

"The gate's going into overload!" Sally shouted, already pushing Harry back into the pilot house, Grovyle opening the door. "Full throttle Harry!"

One or the other statement got the old sailor to the controls in no time and in only seconds, the boat's engines were revving louder than he ever heard them as the craft lurched around in a tight circle and out into the ocean, nearly capsizing in the process. Leo hoped his twenty-mile guess was enough. It could just as well be a hundred miles they needed, and he strongly suspected the Professor's statement of nine minutes was also a guess. Glancing at his watch anyway: seven minutes…

Struggling to join Sally at the rear railing over the heavily vibrating and jerking deck, he stared back at the island through the engine exhaust.

With the three Pokémon's help and the railing, Chris also made his way back to the railing. "What's going to happen?"

"The gate's going into overload!" Sally tried explaining over the roar of the engines. "In a few minutes, the control coils are going to activate and form a dimensional rift, displacing a whole lot of space!"

The trainer stared back blankly.

"The island and an unknown amount of distance around it is going to explode," Leo summed up. That was, if everyone's theories were correct, but if Kol had planned all this, he surely had a high degree of confidence about it. Not to mention Sally had a slightly better handle on the theories than he did.

Six minutes…and the island was still far too large behind them.

Maybe he should explain everything to Chris, like what could happen if the Professor didn't get the coordinates changed in time? He quickly decided against it; best not to burden him with that…until he was sure they were going to live. Besides, he really didn't want such a complicated explanation interrupted by the explosion, smiling grimly at actually thinking such a worry. Especially when at least one person wasn't going to make it out alive.

Damn the Professor. Why did he have to go and pull this stunt anyway? The man had suffered too much already, and had a wife to boot…

An outstretched blue arm was pointing to the island. "Look!"

At first he didn't know what to look at, but then he noticed it: the facility complex looked wavy, like seeing something distant with heavy heat waves distorting the view. Over the ensuing seconds, the area under effect seemed to be growing. "What is that?" glancing to Sally.

She was staring, unmoving as much as the jerking boat allowed. "Maybe some kind of dimensional instability…" Then slamming a fist on the railing: "Leo, remember those schematic diagrams we saw? Those coils were _way_ overbuilt compared to what we used. This gate was designed for this right from the start!"

He gritted his teeth at not just the thought of the entire project team being used by Kol, but that he might still accomplish his goal despite their best efforts. The more overbuild the coils were, the more power they could handle, which meant a much larger dimensional field…

It was a feeling in his gut: they needed more, far more distance, and the island behind them just wasn't receding fast enough! Running and stumbling to the pilot house: "We got to go faster!"

"She don't _go_ any faster!" the old man screamed back, showing both throttle sticks as far forward as they would go. "This ain't no speed boat Goddamn it!"

Damn the technology! Helped save the world in one timeline, only to end up destroying it in the new one! Returning to the rear railing, he watched with a growing sense helplessness as the distortion field appeared to grow until it was nearly enveloping the entire island…and now moving rapidly toward them. Did it mark the limit of where the displacement would happen, or just the core of it? If it got too much larger… He started feeling like a trapped animal and if the boat wasn't lurching to and fro, he'd be maddeningly pacing.

His counterpart already was.

But he steeled himself; whether they made it out alive or not didn't matter in the grand scheme of things. What appeared once the displacement happened, _did_.

* * *

Leo was glad his human self wasn't given the opportunity to sacrifice himself. Maybe it was just a little selfish - it meant the Professor was staying behind instead…but not the Professor he knew.

There wasn't as much comfort in that fact as he would of liked, though. Except for the last three years, John _was_ the Professor he knew. He was also his friend. The first two times he and Blaze saved the world, they managed to escape without anyone losing their lives. This time it was going to be different.

It wasn't fair!

Despite the boat feeling like it was giving every last bit of strength it had in speeding from the island, the place still looked uncomfortably close behind them with the distortion wall seemingly growing closer every second. His human self glanced for what seemed the hundred time at his watch, both his and Sally's faces becoming tight and grim.

"We aren't going to make it, are we?" Grovyle asked, a forlorn look about his eyes as he was keeping a tight grip on the railing, staring back at the island.

He didn't know and said as much, putting as much hope into the words as he could. But from every scrape of knowledge he could remember and piece together, he could only feel pessimistic about their chances. Perhaps…there would be more deaths than just the Professor's, yet.

Blaze's long red and yellow mane was giving him trouble, the strong breeze from the boat's fast movement through the water making it fly in his face constantly. Grabbing and holding it back with a hand, "Maybe we just need to have faith we'll make it," he said, barely audible over the engines. "But if we don't, Leo, I…want you to know I'm happy to be with you in the end…"

He faced his partner and dearest friend…and returned his smile. "I feel that way too." Although he wished Blaze wasn't there… He would sacrifice everything without a second thought to spare his friend.

"It's glowing!" Celebi shouted, pointing as she clung to Grovyle's shoulder.

The facility, just visible as a dot at their distance, was indeed starting to glow and rapidly getting brighter. He quickly shielded his eyes and turned away just before the light became unbearable.

"This is it!" his human self shouted as he cringed low against the railing with Sally.

A flash brighter than the sun cast the most intense shadows he ever saw of themselves against the boat, fading just as quickly. Then, everything looked suddenly very dark as a deep, tortured rumbling felt like it was traveling through everything. Looking back after the light died, the distant facility was already disappearing into a wall of rock and dust as the very material of the island went blasting upward in an ever widening circle, traveling at great speed high into the sky. Within seconds, the island became completely consumed in the blast wall and the ocean around began suffering the same fate, with a virtual wall of water shooting upward and heading at them at high speed.

He barely noticed Blaze gripping his arm to the point of pain as the massive wall grew perilously close…then weaken…and finally fade.

Yet the sky was growing darker as the already airborne dust, rock and water continued spreading out, turning noon-time sky into something unnaturally dark and ominous, yet not hiding the large tsunami-like waves now heading for them.

"Brace everyone!" Sally shouted as the wave front reached them, lurching the boat first up, then back down in a stomach-dropping fall. Leo almost lost his grip on the railing, grabbing Sally at the last instance as she lost hers in the face of some of the wave crashing down on the deck. Celebi continued to hang onto to Grovyle, who in turn firmly had Chris in his arms as they came to rest against the railing on the other side of the deck. Just as the last of the waves passed, small splashes started around them with small gravel-like stuff hitting the deck.

"Leo!" Blaze almost croaked out, looking and pointing nearly straight overhead.

Gasping, it was as scary a scene as any he'd seen in his life: the sky was now a nearly black boiling mass, as first small, then larger rocks starting appearing out of the massive dust clouds to crash into the ocean all around, some whistling, others glowing red, and most creating huge temporary craters in the ocean.

Celebi shot into the pilot house, where she leaned out the window of the door, pointing up and screaming as Harry heaved the wheel around, sending the boat sharply to one side. Within seconds, one boulder nearly landed on the deck, hitting the water mere feet to the side, the concussion of the near hit nearly shaking the boat to pieces with a humongous impact.

Was there also a loud crack…?

The perilous ride continued for what seemed eternity, each of them screaming at one point or another on near hits. Finally the falling debris seemed to be getting smaller, the impacts against the ocean less frequent, only to be replaced by thickening and choking dust!

And all at once, with a great deal of sputtering and coughing, the boat's engines quit!

"We're low in the water!" Grovyle shouted from his side, looking over the railing.

He almost didn't have to point it out as within seconds it was apparent the boat was tilting quickly to the rear, water soon pouring onto the rear part of the deck.

"We're sinking!" Harry shouted, rushing out of the pilot house, only to have to grab onto the door handle to keep himself from sliding down the deck. "Life preservers, on the side!"

Leo climbed hand-over-hand up the railing, everyone doing to same on both sides, quickly reaching the one remaining preserver. "There's only one!" he shouted, handing it down the line past Blaze and to Sally.

"Only one over here," his human self returned from the other side.

Scurrying past him as the water reached the pilot house, Blaze reached the railing at the very front of the boat, but it only bought him a few seconds as the entire deck disappeared beneath the waves. Not long after, the solidness of it gave way and he found himself floating and struggling to reach his drowning partner through the ever thickening dust cloud. Blaze was not able to swim…

"Easy! I got you!" Leo yelled with a cough as Blaze continued flailing wildly in the water, sending it flying in all directions before he wrapped an arm around his neck like an iron vine. "Climb on top me!" If he didn't, his friend was surely going to choke him to death! Lowering himself in the water the little he could made it easier for the infernape to get to his side and soon, his partner was sitting on top of him. One life saved…

It was a struggle to see through the dark grey dust, it being as dark as deep twilight, but tracing the sounds, he found first Sally, then Grovyle, Chris, Harry and his human self, Sally and Chris being in the only life preservers. At some point, he heard Celebi above him and after a look over his back, saw Blaze cradling her in his arms, her face and body black from the thick dust.

"Get her in the water to wash it off."

His friend let her go and the small light-green fairy-like Pokémon moved around them in circles before popping her head back up.

"Better!" she said in her high-pitched, though weary sounding voice. Given how Blaze soon slid down his back to rest against his rear fin and plop his head on top of his, his partner was even more exhausted. Fire types and water just didn't mix real well.

But they were alive…at least for the moment.

* * *

"Try and stay calm," Leo Hanson said loud enough to be heard by everyone. "Keep your breathing shallow and breathe as little of this dust as possible."

From an old geology class, he remembered volcanic dust could be like small shards of glass. Whether this dust was similar he didn't know, but it certainly couldn't be good for them. He also knew trying to keep their breathing shallow was easier said then done. It required a certain amount of energy to stay above water, at least for him, meaning he had to breathe a little harder than he would at complete rest. At least Sally, Chris, Blaze, Celebi and his counterpart could take his advise. His own green partner and Harry though…

Reaching down, he stripped off his shoes to make moving his legs back and forth just a little easier.

"How you people all doing?" the old bearded man finally asked after another moment, coughing afterward.

"Think anyone's going to find us?" Chris asked, finishing with his own lingering cough.

"Only your daughter knows we even went to the island," Sally added.

Harry moved closer to her and gripping her preserver, seemed to switch something small on. "Emergency transponder in this one."

But right away, Leo saw the slight frown over his beard. "What?" he pressed.

The old sailor seemed to make a point of wiping some of the thick caking dust off his face. "Don't know if the signal will get through all this dust. Or through the lightening up there."

Just as he said it, what seemed like a large bolt flashed overhead, it's light greatly muted through the dust, but the crack and rumble having so such problem.

Blaze seemed to moan, saying something in Poke speak.

"Is he alright?" Leo asked.

"He doesn't like water outside of a bathtub," his counterpart replied. "He's a fire type. The longer we stay here, the weaker he's going to get."

The infernape seemed to protest.

"We all will," Chris replied. "But unless someone has an idea…"

But fire type Pokémon suffered the worse in water, Leo knew. It was certainly that way when he had a torchic many years ago.

Sally reached down, lifting a Pokéball out of the water and Wartortle soon appearing. The turtle-like Pokémon looked around, wild eyed and seemingly bewildered.

"_War_tortle?"

"The island exploded and the boat sank," Chris told him bluntly. "Please help Leo and Harry to stay afloat."

"War…war…wartortle…rrrr!"

In an almost panic, the blue Pokémon swam first to Harry, allowing the old man to grab hold, before coming over to him, squealing something to the other Pokémon in the process. Both Grovyle and his counterpart replied with muted snickers and Leo waited for the translation that didn't come without some prodding.

"He says when we battle, we really don't hold anything back," the swampert replied.

Leo found himself unable a resist a wry smile, while Harry shook his head with a frown.

Coughing at every other word, "You know…next time you people decide…to build one of those dimensional…_thingy's_, let me know…so I can…stay the heck _away_ from it! Gonna be fun explaining _this_ to…the insurance company." The old man finished in a fit of angry coughing.

Assuming they were going to make it back alive. By Harry's reasoning, they could be floating for a long time.

With some urging, he got Wartortle to move him closer to Sally.

* * *

The sky had been pitch black for a long time. Night time, Leo guessed, having completely lost track of time otherwise. He'd hoped the dust in the air would've settled enough for the stars or at least some moonlight to be visible, but it was still utterly black, though he thought there might have been just a hint of light where the moon could've been.

Despite being able to float on water, he was approaching exhaustion with it still taking some effort to stay up under Blaze's weight. Further, Grovyle had been hanging on for a while, having spent most his strength as well. At least the green Pokémon was able to mostly float on his own, unlike poor Blaze. Still, what he wouldn't have given for an oran berry; unfortunately they left the satchels back in the control room which was now blasted into tiny fragments. Finally, he had to just let himself sink a little and breath with his gills, hoping Blaze could tolerate a little more water.

Everyone else seemed to be asleep including Blaze, his haired chin resting firmly between his fins, arms wrapped around his neck and wet mane hanging down one side, floating on the water. Closing his eyes which were otherwise useless, he felt his partner's slow breathing and heard the slight whistling through his nostrils that was practically in his ears. His friend wouldn't admit it, but his strength was ebbing quicker than everyone else's. The silly infernape…did he think his partner wouldn't notice?

Not that he could do anything about it.

Save for the gentle sound of small waves lapping up against them, it was completely still. He struggled to stay awake and afloat for the sake of his passengers, but how long could he keep it up? So tired…and he swore his lungs were full of dust, just like his mouth. His gills would help for a while, but eventually he was going to need the greater oxygen his lungs provided given he still had to paddle slightly.

He had to stay awake, keep everyone above water…

Turning his mind to something else: was this was the real disaster then? Or did they actually stop a worse one? For the moment, there was no way to know if the Professor succeeded in changing the coordinates. Yet what were the coordinates Kol had set anyway - part of his own world? With Dialga, Palkia and the Professor now all gone, it would be truly unfair if they hadn't succeeded in preventing what Dialga had foreseen and feared.

Professor John Werner. He was gone in both timelines now…

With a start, he realized his legs were about to cramp and in keeping them from doing so, just about allowed himself to go fully under with Blaze! In desperation he felt forward, finding one of the two life preservers. Gently laying his head down on it to gain a slight amount of buoyancy, he hoped it's minor weight wouldn't take Sally down, judging in the darkness from the breathing that it was her inside of it. He found the sound…reassuring, comforting. Slowly, imperceptibly, the quiet sounds faded around him as he thought back through his still fragmented human memories, finding one of him and her snuggled together in some other time…

…except, he didn't remember being cradled so…

Opening his eyes on a bright grey sky, he found a large blue face staring down at him.

"You _are_ alive!" Lonny said brightly.

At once, he felt disorientated. Lonny was carrying him up the ramp of a large boat while around him, Sally and Chris were being pulled from the water by other humans and Harry, his human self, Wartortle, Grovyle and Blaze were already being carried up the ramp ahead of him by a team of machoke. Waiting at the top, Christina was standing with more humans in blue uniforms as Celebi floated above. The conversation one of the uniformed humans was having with a monotone voice over a handheld radio seemed to confirm the boat was a rescue vessel that had found who they were looking for.

"Christina told the police everything that happened," Lonny continued. "And when they picked up your emergency signal, they came out here right away. Oh, and that explosion seemed to get everyone's attention too. We saw cloud from the city."

Leo started to say how glad he was to see them but ended up coughing instead, the dust constricting his throat suddenly and making even breathing difficult. But the most important thing for him was seeing Blaze sitting up on his own after being set down.

Lonny started pounding his back. "Don't worry, the doctors will make that better…_honey._"

* * *

"Authorities are still saying they don't know what caused the massive explosion on Fore-Nine island yesterday, now estimated by seismic stations to have been equivalent to a one-megaton nuclear warhead, although rumors are swirling it had something to do with a clandestine project being run by the island's owner, Derganio Corporation.

"Adding to the mystery are reconnaissance photos taken by a Coast Guard plane just a couple hours ago, showing the island looking very different from satellite photos from before the explosion. According to an off-the-record comment by one of the pilots, the island is actually much _larger_ now. Also, intercepted radio transmissions from a team presently at the site appear to be detailing completely different vegetation from what should be there with no evidence of an explosion other then from settling atmospheric dust. Truly, a strange event. This is reporter Jenny Monroe, and I'll continue working to keep you updated on this continuing breaking story."

The image of the young woman reporter at the busy Cape Kippel docks faded out on the screen, to be replaced by the normal view of the newscasters at the news desk where they continued discussing the event.

Leo Hanson breathed a tentative sigh of relief. "Well, maybe if they haven't found any humans there by now, it means none of Kol's kind were on that piece of transported land."

"Then…maybe the Professor succeeded," Sally said hesitantly.

He sure hoped so; he would like nothing better then to think of the Professor having saved the world. Sooner or later, he knew he would have to tell someone the complete story.

Leaning back into his pillows, he glanced the opposite way and down the line of other beds. They were a sight: Chris, Grovyle, Wartortle, Blaze and his swampert counterpart all being treated for severe dust inhalation, though Chris had the additional "privilege" of his wounded leg. Since they were all going to be needing treatment for a few days, the hospital was gracious enough to put everyone in the same room, even though the human hospital didn't normally deal with Pokémon. Fortunately one of the nurses from the Pokécenter volunteered to make twice daily visits and the local chanseys on staff also helped. Celebi though, was at the Pokécenter where she could be kept under better security. The fewer who knew where she was or even existed, the better.

After a sigh: "So, isn't this fun?" indicating all of them and getting the deserved stares from six pairs of human and Pokémon eyes.

"Define 'fun'," Chris replied, motioning to his wrapped leg.

"We really have nothing better to do now anyway," the swampert commented, eliciting his own rebuke from his infernape partner.

Wartortle shifted himself to lie flatter on his bed, partly withdrawing his head into his shell. "Wartortle…" which sounded a lot like weary agreement. Or was it that he was bored?

Grovyle merely closed his eyes as Sally surprisingly smiled slightly. "Oh I don't know, I can think of worse places to be."

Facing her, he noted a peculiar look in her eyes as she looked steadily at him.

Suddenly, he could think of a lot worse places to be as well…

"So Leo," Chris said from the other side of him.

Turning around, he found the trainer looking toward his counterpart, however.

"You said you would explain later how you Pokémon tell males and females apart when they otherwise look identical," Chris continued. "It's now 'later'."

"What's this?" Leo asked, noticing Sally also looking past him to the trainer.

"Oh, when Blaze was at the Pokécenter a few days ago, I asked Leo that question," Chris explained, facing them. "He promised to explain later."

"Now _this_ sounds like an interesting topic," Sally said with a grin, sitting up.

"I didn't promise!" the swampert exclaimed.

He swore there was embarrassment in on his counterpart's face. Too bad his face was blue, he thought almost wickedly.

* * *

Thank goodness his face was blue!

Considering everything that had happened, he'd really hoped Chris would've forgotten about that. Not only had he not apparently, now Sally and his human self were present, adding to his growing embarrassment. "It's…complicated," he replied, hoping to dissuade the blonde-haired human from pursuing the topic.

"We seem to have plenty of time," Chris pointed out, gesturing around them to the white and sterile-looking room.

"Indeed," his human self added with a smirk.

In the bed next to his, Blaze merely closed his eyes, smiling, though his face started getting redder as he starting sinking lower beneath the sheet.

Well, either he could refuse to answer, or just simply swallow his embarrassment and explain. He started deciding toward the first option…

"Oh come on, this would add so much to our understanding of Pokémon," Sally pleaded, her own pretty smile gradually turning to a grin. "_Please? _You're the only one who can tell us."

No doubt, they were enjoying this! Turning away for a moment, he found the humans still all looking expectantly at him when he faced them again. Obviously, they weren't about to let the topic go. In desperation, he shot Wartortle a glance.

The blue turtle-like Pokémon widened his eyes before pulling his head further into his shell.

"Just talk to them like a swampert to a newly-hatched mudkip," Grovyle suggested, not even opening his eyes as he laid unmoving, arms folded across his chest.

As if he'd ever done that before! After swallowing hard: "Well, uh...it varies, a little, depending on species, but without smell or obvious physical differences, there are generally…three ways." How he wanted to say only two!

Continuing: "There's manner…" And, he supposed from what he'd observed and remembered of humans, the same was true of them. "…and then there's color. Females normally don't look quite as vibrant…" Just in saying it he realized something: humans couldn't perceive quite the color range that Pokémon could! Certainly, he didn't remember from his days as a human Grovyle appearing quite in the deep, shining shade of green as he did now. He explained that, to which the humans appeared genuinely surprised.

"So, what's the third?" Sally asked.

Grimacing, "The third way…is…uh…well, you generally have to…uh…look carefully where…uh…"

At once, he was thankful for the sudden appearance of the human figure appearing in the doorway. Bearing the more obvious physical traits of human females, she was holding a large vase of flowers.

"Well, hello everyone!" Christina greeted, the other humans returning it.

At first he was never so glad to see anyone, then in the next second took it all back, his heart sinking on seeing a second larger figure appear…one that was blue and white skinned. And being in a hospital bed, there was no place for him to escape to! Not that he wasn't appreciative for her help when they were being transported back to Cape Kippel. And it was hard not to like her bright, smiling face as she was now looking at him.

"Well, I came by to see Dad and thought I would stop by and see you all," Christina explained as she came in, setting the vase on one of the tables. "So how is everyone doing?"

"They say it's going to be a few days before all the dust is out of our lungs," Sally replied.

"They have us scheduled to start some breathing therapy tomorrow," Chris furthered.

"Yeah, that's what they told Dad."

Laying on his stomach with his head at the foot of the bed, Leo watched Lonny with a certain dread as she came across the room to stand by it. Within seconds, she had her own head on the bed, next to his. "And how's my sweetie doing?" asking in her slightly deeper voice.

Many different ways to answer that question instantly sprang to mind, all of them meaning "not interested" in one form or another with varying levels of politeness. Deciding to stick with something simple yet truthful: "Tired," being careful to keep it from sounding like he didn't want her there. He really didn't want to hurt her feelings or anything.

What he expected was something like a 'poor thing' type of response. Instead, he felt two large three-fingered hands on his head, running along his fins slowly, back and forth, gently massaging the part where they connected to his skull… He couldn't stop the quiet moan of relaxation from escaping, his initial reaction to protest quickly evaporating as his body started going limp.

"Lonny will take care of you," the female swampert said softly in leaning closer.

Moving his head just slightly, he glanced out of the corner of his eye. Blaze was wearing an interesting smirk while the other Pokémon were choosing to ignore them suddenly.

"…but finally the Police got tired of asking me the same question over and over," he heard Christina continue from across the room. "I think they'd be coming here next, so be prepared," she finished with a laugh, getting moans from the other humans.

He was suddenly more glad than he could remember in being a Pokémon. It meant he wasn't expected to talk. Except…he had been talking on the boat on the way back… Great. But maybe it wasn't too late to play dumb.

"My dad told everything that happened on the way to the island," Christina went on, "but tell me what happened _on_ the island. I really want to know."

Sally and his human self exchanged glances before the later spoke: "Well, remember this man I told you about, Professor Werner?"

Leo listened quietly to his human self recap yesterday's events and of the Professor's heroic deed as Lonny continued her massage, working her way over his head and eventually down his shoulders and back to his rear fin. To both, he couldn't protest; Lonny's attentions felt really good and his other self was telling the story of what the Professor had done exactly as he would have. At some point, he closed his eyes, only to open them on the face of his partner.

"Had a good nap?" Blaze asked.

Quickly looking around, he found both Christina and Lonny gone.

"She left a while ago. Guess that massage was pretty good, ha ha! I sure wouldn't mind having one like that."

Again, if it wasn't for his blue skin, he'd be sporting red as the implication in his friend's tone was obvious. Deciding to return it: "Then maybe we need to find you some pretty female infernape soon. You aren't getting any younger, you know." The sudden snickering was coming from Wartortle, he noted.

Blaze blushed, his red face getting noticeably more so, but his smile faded after a moment. "Leo, if we can't get back to our world, what are we going to do here now?"

It was something that hadn't crossed his mind since they were heading to the island, and he couldn't help a look to Sally and his human self. They were talking quietly about…things. Chris was asleep. "Maybe Chris would like to use us in battles still," he suggested tentatively even as something else came to mind.

Blaze gave the short blonde-haired human a seemingly considering stare, before facing back and forming a frown. "You sound like you don't want to?"

Not so much that he didn't want to… Giving a shrug and a sigh from his prone position, "I don't know; was just thinking if it wouldn't be more fun to be a trainer…again." And the more he thought about it, the more the idea held appeal.

The infernape at first cocked his head, then let out a surprised-sounding laugh with arms folded across his chest and a whip of his red tail. "Ha ha! And I suppose you expect _me_ to be your first Pokémon, then!"


	20. Epilogue

_Authors note: A big thank-you to all of you who gave reviews and provided feedback and encouragement. Seeing and reading how others derive enjoyment from what one writes is the true reward of writing stories. To you, I give a big bow!_

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* * *

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**Epilogue**

_One year later_

Leo scanned the field, watching the nidoking carefully through the thin dust cloud it'd stirred up from the previous attack. Electabuzz had retreated to several feet in front of the trainer's stand, watching the large, bluish horned Pokémon just as intensely while waiting for instruction.

_Alright, so now what?_

With each side down to their last Pokémon out of their teams of six, he could feel every move taking on added importance. One false move now, and the match was over!

Barely resisting the urge to glance to Chris, he thought through the available moves; although this was his match to win or lose, he knew if things got bad his co-trainer could take over. This was after all the Tournaments final, and the battle for third place. With Chris losing in the battle of the final four that morning, this match between the morning's losers represented the last chance for a place in the all-important top three.

And it was _his_ last chance to prove a Pokémon could be an effective trainer…

If only he could figure out what the nidoking and the opposing trainer were going to do soon enough! As far as strength, the nidoking had Electabuzz beat, but the yellow and black lightening striped Pokémon still had the edge in speed, which had kept him in the match so far. But how to use it better?

All at once, the opposing trainer, a young black-haired woman dressed in plain blue jeans and denim jacket, gave a horn attack command.

A straight charge? He lost a precious fraction of a second not believing she would be planning such a simple attack. No, it was the setup for something else; the previous thirty minutes of battling stood as evidence.

"Electabuzz, shoot thunderbolts in front of him!" Keeping his instructions in Poke speak gave him a decided (but legal) advantage, although it wasn't always as great as it first seemed. Depending on how tightly a trainer keep the reins, the opposing Pokémon sometimes saw fit to counter on it's own based on what command was given, and do so very quickly…

The thin dust lit up as Electabuzz released several charged electrical bolts into the ground right in front of the charging nidoking. Just as he hoped, the nidoking immediately slowed, then veered off course close to the left…meaning there was just an instant to… "Focus punch!"

Electabuzz responded with a quick rush, landing the powerful hit into the side of the nidoking's head and sending the larger Pokémon jerking sideways. But still on his feet, the poison-ground type continued whirling all the way around, slamming his massive tail into Electabuzz and sending him to the ground. It looked even more grim as the nidoking raised his massive foot, moving to put it squarely into Electabuzz's back! Worse, facing the wrong direction, Electabuzz couldn't see what was about to happen!

Leo grew frantic. "Move Electabuzz!"

Fortunately, Electabuzz recovered quickly enough from the tail hit to get to all fours and leap out of the way just before the nidoking slammed his foot into the bare ground, causing a minor tremor and the audience to 'Ooo' in response at the near disaster.

"Nice escape," Chris commented from beside him.

Blaze, who had been knocked out earlier but was now standing behind him, mirrored that.

He would've responded, but couldn't spare the slight distraction, especially as the other trainer issued yet another horn attack command.

And with Electabuzz not nearly far enough away for anything other than a…

Despite his dodge command, Electabuzz almost didn't succeed, but Leo didn't wait for him to regain his balance: "Thunderbolt!"

As the bright flash of pure electricity jumped the space, the nidoking reacted like touching something hot: he was jerking in trying to get away from the current coursing through him, which left him seemingly stunned afterward.

Leo's eyes widened at the unexpected opportunity; there was no way he was going to give it any time to recover, remembering what this Pokémon did to a venusaur the previous day. "Focus punch!"

It was another powerful hit from Electabuzz, which finally succeeded in toppling the larger nidoking for only the second time. But Electabuzz's skin was dripping from sweat and he was huffing heavily. Already going on it's twelfth minute between the two, the match was running longer than either he or the other trainer probably wanted. The electric-type was just about spent.

This needed to end soon.

Opening his mouth to shout for another focus punch, he felt just a little stunned as the nidoking was already getting himself back up and into a defensive stance…though not near as quickly as the last time. He could feel the fellow Pokémon was near his end too, especially given his glistening skin…

Indeed, the stadium announcer backed it up through his echoing voice: "And folks, by the looks of it, this is going down right to the wire! Who would have thought a Pokémon as a trainer could put up such an incredible battle? Folks, you are witnessing history!"

Ignoring the attention, he watched as Electabuzz yet again retreated to gain some distance, one thing he was glad he didn't have to give an instruction for; he was well-trained in battling, thanks to working with Chris for years. At first, the Pokémon hadn't been too thrilled to be taking commands from another Pokémon, let alone him. Still, he used to be human and helping save the world also earned him some respect. Training together for the last year had finally cemented it.

On the field, the two Pokémon were facing each other at a distance as the audience was getting restless, neither he nor the other trainer giving a command right away. Well, whether they liked it or not, it was part of the strategy of long battles: take as much rest as your opponent will allow. In this case, each was allowing the other some recovery. But when it was over, he had to be ready with…_something._

Another thunderbolt?

Electabuzz's huffing said as much that he didn't have many more in him, and only a couple probably wouldn't do in the nidoking, being quite resistant to such. Getting close enough to deliver a slightly more effective focus punch would be risky, giving the nidoking a chance to strike home with a horn attack, which would probably be the final blow for Electabuzz.

So…what else could he do?

Use speed to get in close, dodge any counterattack, then deliver the blow… They'd tried that a few times before with mixed success. It would be a huge risk given Electabuzz's current worn-down state. The nidoking's poison tip on his horn was an ever-present concern too, though they had managed to avoid it up to now.

"Nidoking, tail pound!"

_Time's up_. His first thought was to issue a dodge command, but formed a better idea as Electabuzz looked to him with an urging for some direction as the nidoking came charging straight for him: "Stay ahead of him; keep your distance!"

The Pokémon's expression conveyed a slight contempt for being forced to run from their opponent, but if he held any second thoughts, they were quickly squelched as the nidoking almost reached tail-whacking distance. Being lighter and faster, running was a strategy that would work for a while; Electabuzz could more than keep out of the nidoking's reach. Being as long of a match as it had been, he realized it just might also be a winning strategy at this stage. Moving greater mass required greater energy. In chasing Electabuzz, the nidoking was using more energy than him; then at some point…

With a roar that was more of whimper, the nidoking stopped dead after only going once around the field, going nearly to his knees as he seemingly was struggling for breath with the sweat now dripping off of him.

This was it! "Electabuzz, focus punch!"

Electabuzz, although huffing himself, had enough strength left to whirl around and charge back to deliver the strong hit to the nidoking's head, despite the nidoking's best effort to swing around to meet the attack. And still, it wasn't enough! Though on his knees and looking very weak, the nidoking stayed standing!

"Focus punch again!"

The electric Pokémon looked about dead himself, but stopped, nearly slipping on the grass, to come back around.

"Counter with your horn!" the woman trainer yelled. "Be tough!"

He didn't think the opposing Pokémon could do it but in a surprising move, the nidoking moved his legs to thrust his head with it's sharp horn forward…just as Electabuzz connected on his jaw.

The two Pokémon stood, mere feet from each other and both looking ready to fall. Then, as if in slow motion, the nidoking went to all fours, shaking badly as Electabuzz went to his own knees, holding his shoulder where the poisoned horn just contacted him.

"Hang on!" Leo urged. Another attack now, of course, seemed virtually impossible. It was going to be all Electabuzz could do just to stay conscious! He grimaced as the seconds passed…Electabuzz sat on his legs, lowering his head nearly to the ground and huffing as hard as he had ever seen him, whereas the nidoking…

With a loud sigh, the large bluish Pokémon suddenly collapsed onto his chest, his eyes shut.

In the merest fraction of a second, the crowd was roaring and the judge waving a green flag. "This match is over! The winner for third place is the team of Chris and Leo!" Which only sent the crowd into a wild frenzy.

It was over? It felt like he'd been battling for ages… Before the win even registered in his fatigued brain, the stadium was erupting with near-constant flashes and Chris was suddenly grabbing and shaking him, wearing his broadest grin ever. He barely hear the human over the crowd: "We did it! We placed third!"

Blaze and Grovyle were up on the stand and by his side almost immediately. "Ha ha! We're winners!" the infernape shouted with a slap on his back, before raising his head up and letting out his most loud, excited howl ever.

Jumping off the platform, Chris headed toward Electabuzz who was walking slowly back toward them. Leo moved to follow, but two large, strong blue arms embraced him from behind, keeping him from moving. "So, now my honey is a tournament winner too!"

"From the looks of it, you'd think all these people have never seen a Pokémon as a trainer before," Grovyle said, deadpan.

"Yeah, you'd think," Leo replied, fighting for breath.

Shaking his head, "Nah, they were just taken back because you were that good," Blaze offered, ending with an almost impossibly wide grin.

"You're pretty amazing Leo," Sally said after giving him a kiss, before she started for the center of the field. "The other Leo is going too damned proud to be around now." But she was grinning too.

Christina, who had sat with Lonny and Sally through the entire match at the coach's bench, echoed that sentiment, adding: "All you Pokémon were superb!"

Lonny eventually released him to give him a proper hug from the front, but it had to be short as Chris was signaling everyone to join him.

The flashes from the cameras just didn't stop as he grabbed an oran berry and led Lonny, Blaze and Grovyle onto the field. Despite the near blinding flashes, he took in the entire view of the stadium anyway. Humans and even Pokémon everywhere were cheering wildly. In his still fragmented memories, he could remember being at one Tournament before when he was young. Having been part of the crowd, he remembered the excitement, anticipation, and nail-biting he had felt. Yes, he understood. And he also wasn't blind to the fact that a Pokémon performing as a trainer probably added a new level of interest.

Too bad his human self couldn't be there; still, what he was doing was also important this night.

"Electabuzz, you fought incredibly!" shouting over the cheering as soon as he was close enough to the black-striped Pokémon who had finished the match for the team.

Chris gave him a squirt of antidote and a hug, after which the extremely tired-looking Pokémon at last was smiling, a rare event. "I had a great trainer," he returned between heavy breaths, with a nod to Leo. "Two of them. What more could a Pokémon want?"

Leo put the oran berry in his hand. Unceremoniously, the electric type stuffed the blue fruit in his mouth before Chris urged them all to the center of the field, where the woman trainer was waiting by her nidoking, who was at least sitting up again.

Shaking her head, "It's one thing to lose to a trainer. Losing to a _Pokémon_ who's also a trainer just feels…weird." Although her words held disappointment, she managed to form a bemused smile. "And humbling."

"Losing _any_ match can be humbling," Leo returned. "But you and your team fought well. This could have easily gone the other way."

"Definitely," Chris added.

"And not only that, but you can _speak!_" the woman exclaimed, spreading her arms. "But still, darned good match. All of you very much earned it. Congratulations."

Closer flashes lit up as the crowd roared even louder; he had a feeling the handshake that followed was going to be in the morning's papers…

The spectacle repeated itself in nearly greater intensity during the closing ceremonies a few hours later. Medals were barely handed out with the fireworks exploding overhead before reporters were jamming at the ring surrounding all the participating trainers.

He didn't particularly feel like granting interviews, but at least he and Chris had an excuse: they needed to get to the lab now that it was evening and most the town was distracted by the Tournaments…including the security people at the lab.

* * *

Heart pounding, Leo Hanson glanced at the settings for seemingly the hundredth time as he continued pacing back and forth across the balcony. Not that he wasn't certain they were correct by now, but it was essentially the last chance to make sure everything was right. That, and he was damned nervous…

Almost humorously, Celebi was pacing with him, only she was floating in mid-air.

"Just calm down," George replied from the next console, feet up on the counter as he continued watching the last of the closing ceremony commentary from the Tournaments. "Everything was ready days ago and triple checked a dozen times already."

He stopped his pacing, Celebi following suit, but it didn't help his anxiety any. "Easy for you to say."

"I don't think that's what he's nervous about," Naomi chided from behind George, also watching the television. "You really sure you want to go through with this?"

Going to the railing and glancing down to the pile of suitcases, small crates and other hard-cased luggage, he couldn't help but smile. It was exciting…yet scary as well. It would be his first time through a dimensional portal, his swampert persona notwithstanding, though the fact he had gone through in the other timeline did give him some confidence. It also most definitely violated all agreements the team had with the University for the project to continue since the Fore-Nine disaster. But the technical aspect of what they were about to do was only half of it. Since both his and Sally's parents were dead, and each with little close family remaining, the decision wasn't as hard as it would seem. Besides, they both were looking forward to the adventure. Facing back to his coworkers: "We talked it over a lot, and we're sure."

"Yep, he sounds sure," George remarked to Naomi.

The voice from the television continued: "Well folks, we've been trying for a while to get an interview with that fantastic trainer duo of Chris Urbason and his incredible talking Pokémon, the swampert Leo, but we've been unable to locate them since they disappeared into the tunnel leading back to the trainer's locker room. No doubt despite finishing third, they are the true stars of this year's Trainer's Tournament. A talking Pokémon is incredible enough, but to have it also acting as a trainer, and one to finish in third place no less…_that_ folks, is one for the record books. Will any of us ever see the likes of this again in our lifetimes?"

George sighed, "They should be here any time," a hint of nervousness now creeping into his voice as well.

"Hope Ticonamo and Sally don't have any trouble getting them past security," Naomi added.

"Are you kidding?" George asked. "Only one guy showed up for tonight's shift. All the others got off for the Tournaments."

Of course, handing out the scarce tickets to the security personal helped too, Leo thought with a wry grin. Being allocated tickets for friends and family was just one of the perks given to the limited participants, and since most of the security people had met his Pokémon counterpart at one point or another, it was just added incentive to get them to go. The net effect of it all was that it should be a lot easier to get everyone past the new security checkpoint this evening.

Leo scarcely finished the thought before the lab doors burst open, a white-coated Ticonamo leading Sally, Chris, Christina, Lonny, Grovyle, Blaze and his Pokémon counterpart inside.

"Hurray to the conquering heroes!" Naomi shouted, raising her arms up with George and both giving a whoop.

"Ree-a-ray-bee!" Celebi said in her own way of whooping as she started floating down to them.

Leo didn't even wait until they were all in before rushing down the metal stairs to embrace Sally. After a long kiss: "You ready for this?"

"To begin our new lives?" Then with an inviting smile and a wink: "I'm ready if you are."

And at the sight of her, he was more certain now than ever. "Then let's do it." Arms around her shoulder, he lead them to the cart of waiting luggage and where everyone else was gathering.

"So…" George started with a great sigh and hands in his pockets, "I guess…this is it."

"Leo, Sally, Grovyle," Naomi said, quickly wiping below one of her eyes. "We've worked together for a long time on this project. It's just not going to be the same around here without all of you. Oh and you too, Blaze, Celebi and Swampert Leo."

"Reebee!" Celebi floated before her to touch her nose.

"I feel the same, Naomi," Sally returned, smiling weakly. "You're all like family to me. We've sure been through a lot together, haven't we?"

"Sure have. Just wish the Professor could be here."

"Me too," Ticonamo added, which was echoed by everyone else.

"But you sure _you_ guys are going to be fine here?" Leo asked. Although George, Naomi and Ticonamo assured they could handle the situation they were creating, he still worried. "There's going to be a lot of questions…"

"Of course there are," Naomi replied quickly, "but we can handle the University regents. And you know what they say, it's better to beg forgiveness than ask permission. Besides, this world owes all of you _so much_ for stopping Kol last year, this is the least any of us can do."

"Darned right on that," George confirmed. "And you guys are just so talented, you had everything preprogrammed and before the rest of us knew what was going on, you had that portal to the Poké world open and already traveled there. We just couldn't stop you guys; heck, we didn't even know the equipment was fully operational yet," finishing with a grin.

"I…don't think they're going to buy that," Naomi warned with a mild jab into his side.

"OK, then how about we needed to continue testing this finally functional gate somehow?"

"In either case, I was in the bathroom when whatever it was supposedly happened," Ticonamo said, earning everyone's laughter.

But the laughter died as the time was at hand.

George sighed. "Well, we'll do our best to open the portal occasionally and maintain contact. And I sure wouldn't mind coming for a visit every now and then to see this Poké world for myself. Just all depends."

"I know," Leo acknowledged. It already had taken a lot of arm twisting to just to allow the project continue in some form, but there were serious conditions attached, one of which being no long-distance portals being created. The biggest fear of course was a repeat of the Fore-Nine island disaster, but unsaid was making a connection with Kol's world. Still, it was because of the University that they still had a project rather than a complete dismantling as some in the government had wanted. In fact, he was almost sure a couple on the Board of Regents secretly wanted them to succeed in making a connection to the Poké world, just so Blaze and his Pokémon self could return after their part in saving the world was revealed. What they likely hadn't anticipated was that he, Sally and Grovyle would want to go with them! "Maybe the fact that we've already gone will provide enough leverage for subsequent trips."

"I hope so," Ticonamo said. "I'd really like to see that place too." Pointing to both the infernape and the swampert, "For what you guys said of it, it sounds really cool."

Naomi nodded agreement as well.

"You sure you don't want to come too?" Leo asked Chris, who up till now had remained silent along with Christina.

The young blonde-haired trainer smiled, but shook his head. "Maybe next time; I guess I'm not ready for a long extended and perhaps permanent vacation just yet. I still have too many things to do."

"Don't worry," George said. "We'll stay in touch with this young whippersnapper. If we get the opportunity to open the portal again, we'll let him know."

"Hey, don't leave me out," Christina added.

"OK, you too then," Ticonamo said. "By the way, how about a date?"

Naomi wacked his shoulder.

After the chuckles died down and leaving only the sound of the humming equipment, Leo realized there was really nothing left to be said, and with Sally, Blaze, Grovyle and his Pokémon self, they moved to embrace the others, not without a few tears.

* * *

While George, Ticonamo and Naomi went up the stairs to the control balcony, there was one last person Leo needed to say goodbye to. He stood facing Lonny for a few seconds before they embraced each other. "You sure about not coming along?" In the past year, he had grown to like her…a lot, and every chance he got, which was infrequent given that they lived in separate cities, they got together. Indeed, her being in town for the Tournaments for the last several days was definitely the longest they'd been together for a while.

She moved her head back enough to look at him while gently rubbing the gills on the sides of his face. "I can't leave right now; my home is here." Then with a mischievous smile: "But don't think I won't come for a visit when I can!"

Sighing, he affectionately rubbed her gills in return. Thinking back to when they first met, it was hard to believe how much she had grown on him. Of course, he hadn't really grown out of his love for Sally, but now that she and his human self had finally grown close in this future, he felt a strange contentment with that…as well as a slight jealousy. But Lonny had been there, and she wasn't the imposing swampert she had first appeared. She had proven to have a very big heart and deeply caring. Not to mention an excellent battler, far better than himself!

"Portal in thirty seconds!" George shouted from above.

Together, they helped move the large luggage cart into position at the base of the ramp leading into the ring.

"Take care of yourself, my sweetie."

"You too," Leo returned, watching her back up to the side, but grabbing Blaze and pulling him off to the side with her. Leaning close to the infernape, she seemingly whispered something for a several seconds before letting him go with a surprised look.

"What'd she say?" Leo quizzed him when he returned.

Blaze opened his mouth and glanced at Lonny, who narrowed her eyes at him. "I'll tell you later."

Now what was going on?

* * *

Leo Hanson watched the center of the ring in heart-pounding anticipation. As George counted down, nothing appeared to be happening until a few seconds before zero when the center began to glow dully, quickly spreading to cover the entire opening in a grayish luminance that was almost brilliant.

"Portal formed and stable!" Ticonamo shouted.

The first thing he, his Pokémon counterpart and Grovyle did was to push through was the luggage cart. Almost surreally, it rolled smoothly into the portal, disappearing like something behind a translucent curtain. With any luck, it would arrive scattered enough that they wouldn't be met with a 'wall' of luggage on the other side! Of course, far better to run into it then to have it arrive on top of them…

Standing at the threshold next, Grovyle said something in Poké-speak before taking a deep breath and quickly walking in. That was Grovyle, Leo mused, insisting on going first to make sure everything was alright.

Next, Celebi zoomed by, giving a high-pitched "Ree ree!" before her squeal died as she disappeared in.

Up next, he and Sally…

At the threshold, he turned about to take in the lab, for what could be the very last time. On the opposite far wall by the double doors leading in, was the bronze plague proclaiming the room the John Werner Memorial lab. It was satisfying…and sad. So many memories the place held for him. He hoped he would see it again, if only for a visit, more so for the people he had worked so closely with for seven years.

Glancing up to the balcony, George, Naomi and Ticonamo were at it's railing.

"Godspeed, all of you," Naomi said.

George smiled sadly, but was giving a thumbs-up.

Ticonamo adjusted his glasses before nodding with a wave.

With a final nod and wave in return, he followed Sally into the portal…and to their new life on the Poké world.

* * *

Like his human self, Leo paused at the threshold with Blaze. It was really sinking in now…they were really going home!

"I wish Dialga and Palkia were here, coming back with us," Blaze lamented as his red and yellow mane moved slightly in the almost imperceptible breeze from the portal.

He could only agree with his partner. "Me too."

"Do you really think we'll ever see them again? It's been over a year…"

He had hope, but unfortunately that was all. "All I know is if any Pokémon could survive what Kol did, it would be those two." They had no idea if Kol still lived either for that matter, but if he had, at least they'd seen or heard nothing of him.

The corner's of Blaze's mouth turned upward slightly on his red face, his blue and yellow eyes getting a slight twinkle to them: "But we're going home, aren't we?"

"Yes, we are." And in just saying it, his heart skipped a beat now that they were at the threshold. It'd been so long…

"You know, not that this planet isn't a nice place to visit, but I still say it's strange!"

After turning around to give a last wave goodbye, he stepped though the light grayish fringe with his partner to feel instantly like he was flying, only there was almost no wind. Then came the sensation of falling, nearly turning his stomach inside out. Seconds became more seconds…and the journey seemed to stretch on longer than what he remembered from Palkia's portal to the human world. Likely due to different 'technologies', he reasoned. But since they apparently had time: "So what did Lonny tell you?"

'Flying' beside him in the now dim tunnel, Blaze faced him, his face looking just slightly green. "Oh…uh…she wanted me to…ha ha, tell you something, but only after we left."

From his expression, his partner seemed slightly unsure of how to say it. "Then what was it?" he prodded.

"She said…she's with egg."

Almost immediately, the area around them was very bright as they quickly stumbled forward in an effort not to fall on the ground. He felt stunned, and not just from the blinding light. Shading his eyes from the noontime sun, Treasure Town appeared before them.

**The End**


End file.
